The creation of a wiki can be very useful in the classroom for students to experience the freedom of expressing their thoughts. It will expose the student to a type of creativity that could never be achieved with normal classroom instruction. Students are increasingly learning things in a non linear fashion, as teachers we must provide the opportunities for students to learn in this way to access information as needed depending on the task that is being worked on.
Wikis allow for the development of a range of skills that allow the student to function independently within the Wiki environment. I find that the use of Wikis by students prepares them to read and analyze web pages a lot easier and also gives them the ability over time to use and retrieve information that is required rather than spending time sifting and sorting.
Communication involves the use of a variety of media that allows for the creation of new ideas which can be communicated quickly. Wikis give the teacher and idea of how much a student has grasped from instruction because the Wiki lends itself to self expression. Visual images and print help to broaden their understanding of what they read and in turn allow them to express their understanding through a variety of medium.
I still believe that using a word processor is an important skill for students. It should be used along with the Wikis because it is another tool that allows the student self expression. It prepares the student for writing in formal environments and allows choice from an array of templates to communicate information that is expository in nature.
I am deeply concerned about the non- access to computers and internet across schools in
I agree with most of what Zandra has delineated in her comments. Wikis are the new face of writing and has a lot of educational benefits both to the students and the teacher. As with blogging, wikis allow students the opportunity to do collaborative work. Students are not only writing for their teachers but are also writing with and for their peers. As a result, more thought and reflection are necessary. Students are also responsible for editing their peers’ contribution encouraging them to view previous contributions with a critical eye to highlight any deficiency in the writing. This will also promote critical evaluation of both their work as well as their peers’ allowing them to have more autonomy over their writings.
ReplyDeleteWikis, like blogging, forces students to be more cognizant of what they are writing especially if it is within the public domain. Also, it allows them to be more conscious of citing as online writings are more open to speculation and detection of plagiarism. To me, the most important aspect of wikis is the pride and empowerment that students feel as contributors to a collective piece of writing.
Hey Zandra, I enjoyed reading your comments on wikis. I would just like to add to them.Their use in the classroom as a learning tool is encouraged because of the collaboration involved. I believe that Dewey spoke about collaboration being an ingredient of the social learning process. In these times we really need to capitalise on all the opportunites we get to teach and encourage children to work together and cooperate. There is so much tension between and among them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, wikis help them to be producers and less of consumers. Students realise that others are depending on their input on the page.They have a sense of ownership and pride to see that this is what they have done.You have some lovely posts.Keep up the good work.