After reading about wikis, I have a totally new outlook on them. I had heard of Wikipedia in the past, but really didn’t know what it was until I got into the ITS program. I had never really thought to highly of Wikipedia because of the fact that everyone could put in their “two cents.” I did not trust that the information would be correct. I didn’t take into consideration that “two heads are better than one!” Also, Richardson states that Wikipedia is one of the most accurate sites out there. Which was hard for me to believe. I realized that even though you are not physically with these people as you collaborate, it is still indeed collaboration done asynchronously.
I feel that wikis are a great way for students to collaborate outside of the four walls of the classroom and teacher. In this day and age, we as teachers need to stop pretending that we know everything and know that it is ok for our students to know more than we do, especially in technology.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
What are you doing?!? You're going to blow our cover as teachers!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree that wikis could serve a higher purpose for students (and teachers). Look forward to hearing more of your thoughts and ideas.
I think we sometimes fear that others in our profession might disapprove when we go out and test the waters on something so new (relatively speaking) as wikiis. I agree with you that my opinions of wikiis and wikipedia has changed since my reading and our discussions of them. Two heads are better than one, and that's reality--when we don't know something in real life, we go out looking for the answer. We need to show kids how to successfully find that valid information, too! Wi-wi-wiki hear we come!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Sherri. I have had great success with 4th and 5th grade Social Studies and Science. The students are very engaged and enjoying the research.
ReplyDeleteSherri, I think you summed it up well. It's tough for us as teachers to not only give up certain control, but to do so in a brand new manner also. You and a few others made very good points on my blog about students being able to take ownership over their work and be proud of what they contribute. We cannot underestimate this. Kids have a much higher chance of retaining information if they help produce it. I was just talking to a third grade teacher who is amazed that wikis are working with her third grade class! So it seems that wikis can be successful even with young students!
ReplyDelete