Week 3 and Wikis

It is half way through July! Where has the summer gone? I loved the simple video about Wikis. I have worked with them before but never really understood why I would want to use them. The video helped to make Wikis clearer for me. I explored many of the sample Wikis. (It can be addicting.) As others have said, I loved the fourth grade Wiki. It is such a simple but effective use of the media. The teacher and children were able to share their work with parents and others. I would like to try a Wiki like that in the fall. I am the computer teacher and librarian at my school. My children create projects in computer class and I would love to share their work with their parents. Secondly, I usually have a calendar posted so that teachers may sign up for the lab. They come to the lab, check out the schedule and sign up for available times. Posting a schedule on a Wiki will make accessing the calendar so much easier. Finally, I can see using a Wiki for teachers to share ideas. I must admit that teachers collaborating face to face would be much more productive. Yet I can imagine sharing face to face ideas on a Wiki for all to see.

I would like to address my thoughts on Wikipedia. It seems Wikipedia is the first site that come out when you search for information. I constantly stress to the children that it can be used for initial information but not for their entire research. I explain that anyone can add information to this Wiki and it might not be reliable. Getting children to move beyond this site has been a challenge.