What an amazing, busy week! I was stressed Sunday and Monday last week worrying I wouldn't be able to complete my assignment for week 1. Then I came home to my books and was able to do my assignment staying up to the last few minutes of the posting timeframe. On Tuesday night, I realized I had to read the entire book for week 2's discussions. As I read page to page, I saw the vast amount of information was getting me excited about setting up my wiki to be completed for week 4. The biggest concern I had besides actually creating the wiki was what the wiki was going to be about. I bounced from one idea to another. Then when I took my students into the lab Wednesday and had them to log on to coolmath-games, I knew what the wiki would be. One main thing the students always ask me about computer lab is, “Can we do a fun math site?” Often I will search online myself for a few days before computer lab for a site or sites that focuses on the needs of my students. What better ways to meet those needs than to have the students look for the sites themselves? Let’s face it! They are the ones who will be playing them. So I decided to create a workplace for the students to add online math sites to use based on their level.
When I read Using Wikis for Online Collaboration: The Power of the Read-Write Web by James and Margaret West, I found that wikis are great tools to allow students not only share information but describe it and collaborate with other classmates. After listing their math sites, the students can edit, add, or delete information pertinent to the assignment. While reading about wikis, I realized that there are pros and cons to using them. I believe the biggest concern of any online activity is the security and copyright issues. Also, a wiki needs to be created with careful planning and organization. Along with guidance of an instructor, balancing workload, and developing trust will produce an effective, engaging wiki.
Three of the chapters in this book, discussed three different projects that can be created as a workspace for wikis. They are Knowledge Construction, Critical Thinking, and Contextual Application. I have chosen to do the resource bank under knowledge construction with my math wiki for my students. I told my students today that I needed them to start searching the web to help me create a great resource site for us to use at school as well at home. At the present, our school TIS has created a portaportal site which is similar to a wiki resource workspace. Teachers have password access to add to this site. Check out the site when you get a chance to see some great online tools to use. http://guest.portaportal.com/newriverelementary
All in all, I have found that with any tool to use whether it’s textbooks or wikis, the only way to successful learning is to make sure it is user-friendly and relevant to the learner’s needs.
Reference:
West, J.A. and West, M.L. (2009). Using wikis for online collaboration: The power of the read-
write web. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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