In a previous post,
I reflected on my participation in a wiki. This week, I set up my own wiki
through Wikispaces. So far I have just registered and had a look around at the
features. It seems fairly simple and the interface is quite intuitive. I like
that there are pop ups to provide extra information on how to use a specific
feature of the wiki.
The potential uses
of wikis within a primary setting are diverse. I think the text book idea is a
great example. It suports a Constructivist approach to learning by positioning the students as information creators and curators.
A wiki could be used
to enhance the learning activities that occur within the classroom. This is
because of the key features of a wiki and the technology that supports it.
Features include:
- Online storage: won’t be rubbed off a whiteboard at the end of a lesson,
- Connectivity: students can access outside of class,
- Interactive: knowledge can be added by the teacher as well as students,
- Collaborative: working together to build something bigger than what one person can achieve on their own
Based on this, some
ideas for wiki use in the classroom are:
- Brainstorming tool (much like the de Bono exercise).
- A class glossary where each member of the class can add new terms as they learn them.
- A place to store student profiles. This would be good at the beginning of the year. Students could each have a page to write a short biography. It would be a good tool to refer to in order to find out more about a student.
This last suggestion
has implications for the safe and ethical use of this type of technology.
Uploading student details is a delicate matter. It should only occur within a closed system, no one outside of the class should have access. Parents would also need to provide their consent before an activity such as this took place. I have noticed that Wikispaces has a set of permissions which would allow it to be a private space. A teacher would have a high degree of control over how the space is used. I feel that this, along with parental support should create a safe and positive experience within the classroom.
Below is a SWOT analysis that summarises my findings about wiki usage in the classroom:
STRENGTHS
|
WEAKNESSES
|
Collaborative.
Accessible outside
of the classroom.
Multimodal – can
include text, images, videos and sound.
Easy to use.
Useful tool for
organisation and categorisation.
Linked
information.
|
Asynchronous form
of communication. Only one person can work on a page at one time.
Work can be
removed.
Requires constant
monitoring which could be time consuming for teachers.
Limited
functionality (when compared with blogs and websites)
|
OPPORTUNITIES
|
THREATS
|
Peer-to-peer
learning. Students share information with each other; learn from one another.
Global citizens.
The opportunity to create a wiki with students from around the world.
Access to the
experts. Students are not limited to the knowledge of one teacher.
Hyperlinking
between information.
Opportunity to
show relationships between content and to deepen student knowledge.
Students become content creators.
|
Authenticity.
Student could be logged in as themselves but work is not their own.
Unethical
behaviour. Copyright infringement, adding inappropriate material, deleting
another student’s work.
More time spent on
refining the look of wiki than on actual content.
Information
overload. It would be tempting to keep adding information instead of refining
and editing.
Students don’t
engage in the wiki or collaborate effectively.
|
