Thing # 8 Wikis

Things about Wikis

First Wiki Visit - Gazing For Digital Natives
I am only a beginner techie, but this site seemed very thorough to me. It provides so much information about technology related information (using language understandable for beginners). It has everything you need to know about RSS Readers, setting up a blog or wiki, etc. Incredibly, it had a lot of the videos I have seen while working on 23 Things. It also provides access to Discovery Education information including webinars, and even some homework help, arranged by subject, for students (or parents) to reference. The wiki was very well organized with side bars and a table of contents, navigation bars, an invitation to join the wiki, and a place to click and see recent updates. My favorite thing, was a talking Voki avatar of the wiki space owner, which allowed and encouraged you to go out and create your own Voki. Once I got back on task, I played with the Discovery Education subject tutor and worked on my math skills a little. I was unable to tell that anything was missing from this wiki, it had what seemed like a million things on it that I could spend a lot of time reading, so it may be a little distracting for someone like me. Reading the profile of the wiki owner's credentials, it appears that she is very skilled in the wiki technology. I will definitely visit this site again.

Second Wiki Visit - Discovery Utopia
This site was very well organized. It was set up to allow the visitor to get around easily with a table of contents. The visuals were very nice. The content was enjoyable to read. The students were assigned to do a project on their idea of a utopia. The covers of several novels, that set the premise for the utopian idea, were also available as audio books. The students used varying amounts of pictures, videos, and sound in their individual presentations. I enjoyed the guitar recording. One student recorded himself playing his own guitar piece and added it to the site as part of his presentation. The assignment and vehicle for presenting the project allowed the facilitator to meet a multitude of student learning style preferences. The only thing I encountered missing was a video that was no longer available. Again, I am not experienced enough to determine how to make this site better, but I do believe that this was a great example of how a wiki can be used by a teacher for a classroom lesson. This site was not overwhelming with information like the first site I visited, but seemed very well put together with all items easily accessible.

Third Wiki Visit - Kindergarten Counting Book
This wiki was organized in a very easy going way. It gave my overwhelmed brain a much needed break after visiting the first two sites. You only had to scroll your way down to see the pictures. There were no links or table of contents needed, but the audience for this site did not need those items. The content was precious. I enjoyed looking at each and every picture. Tools were simple photos and text. The students probably had a blast with this project. Parents would enjoy being able to see some of the learning from the classroom. I didn't notice anything missing or anything that I would do to improve this site. Being new to wikis and having to think about how to implement a wiki, this was very encouraging in its simplicity.

My Ideas About My Own Wiki
Having seen examples from a very simple wiki for a kindergarten class to a middle class project wiki, to a most elaborate wiki designed for multiple audiences, I am not sure I am ready to launch my own yet. However, I am beginning to think about the audience for a wiki. I am certain that it would begin by being very simple and develop into a more complex wiki as interaction with the wiki begins (or doesn't). As I go through the thoughts of the tasks I perform during the school year, the information I give out the most, and the needs of the students and the parents, I am visualizing a wiki that is informational for the parents and students. I liked the Discovery Education math helper, that explained how to do all kinds of math problems from K through 12th grade. A link to that site would be good. Maybe some parent resources with ideas about helping ADD students manage in a school environment, etc., a link to a teacher site which provided homework or classwork information and email addresses or wiki sites would be helpful. Any upcoming events at the school could be added. As I think about this, I realize that may have just ventured off into duplicating our school website. I need to continue to think this through and make my wiki more interactive rather than just informational and maybe for a more specific rather than general audience. To be continued . . .