Saturday, 17 March 2012

Creating a Wiki

What Is a "Wiki"?

A "Wiki" is an online tool which enables you to create a collaborative internet space.  It is collaborative as it enables you to invite other members to view your Wiki Space and comment on any material that is posted on the Wiki Space.

Creating a "Wiki"

To create a Wiki you will need to go to http://www.wikispaces.com
Please view thisvideo to get furtehr information on how to create a "Wiki".



Example of a "Wiki"

To view my wiki space please follow the following link:    My Wiki

How Can a "Wiki" Be Used in the Classroom

If you view my Wiki space from the link above you will see some examples of how a Wiki can be used.  However, some other uses for a Wiki include:

  • Any activity which requires input of students and the bouncing of ideas ie. collaborative discussions;
  • Any group activity;
  • Using the Wiki as a place to display homework, stories, images, videos etc. for viewing by students;
  • Using the Wiki to provide announcements in relation to what is occurring in the class.  This can be viewed by parents so that they can keep up to date.

SWOT Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of Using a Wiki

The strengths of using a Wiki for teaching include:
  • The ability to collaborate online;
  • Fast interaction;
  • Assists shy children to contribute
  • Assists students to use online tools and thus complying with the Australian Curriculum to "Inquire, Create, Communicate and Operate" using ICT methods.
  • The ability to gain further knowledge by looking at the input of other users;
  • The ability to edit information and keep it updated;
  • That it encourages Constructivisim Learning Theories and Connectivism Learning Theories (ELearning Pedagogy - K Lein);
  • It encourages active, reflective,sensing, intuitive, visual, verbal, sequential and global learners as it has the ability to provide for all of these categories.  Active as it allows the learner to interact and participate in the activity in a hands on way.  Reflective as it gives the learner time to think about their responses.  Sensing as it provides details and facts and allows problem solving.  Intuitive as it allows for new possibilities to be discovered.  Visual as it is inviting and can often be visually appealling to the learner.  Verbal as often sound can be uploaded to the Wiki.  Sequential as it provides a step by step guide to complete a Wiki and Global as it allows a Global Learner to jump in and participate.  (Learning Styles and Strategies - Felder and Solomon).
  • It encourages TPACK - Technological Pedagogy Content Knowledge. (Technological Pedagogical Knowledge)
  • It can encourage all the Blooms (Revised) Taxonomies of "Remembering", "Understanding", "Applying", "Analysing", "Evaluating" and "Creating" and therefore focuses on high levels of thinking. (Blooms Taxonomy).
The weaknesses of using a Wiki for teaching include:
  • That the Wiki can only be edited by one person at a time and this can cause delays and frustration by the learner;
  • Typing in the Wiki can at times be slow;
  • Comments provided may not be appropriate;
  • As the activity is online it prohibits the face to face interaction and ability to argue positions verbally.
  • Copyright and ethical issues.
The opportunites that are available when using a Wiki to overcome those weaknesses include:
  • The teacher/inventor should view the Wiki frequently to ensure that any unwanted comments are removed;
  • Students are made aware of the rules of using the Wiki including using appropriate language etc.
  • To avoid time delays a group of students be allocated to a set day.  For example, Group 1 is Monday, Group 2 is Tuesday etc.
  • Discuss ethics and copyright issues with the class.
The threats that may arise from using a Wiki include:
  • If the teacher/inventor does not monitor comments than problems with bullying, defamation etc. may occur.
  • If the teacher/inventor does not establish set rules students may act inappropriately and harm could be caused to other students.
  • If ethical and copyright issues are not discussed in detail then there may be legal consequences.

Personal Reflection

Creating a Wiki Space was relatively simple.  The wiki space was free to create and uploading material is also free to the user.  I believe it will be an invaluable tool in the classroom and one that I intend to implement.   Course work can be easily undertaken using wikispaces.  It was easy to upload You Tube video's and other images to the wiki space. 

References



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