I have begun to use a wiki in my IB class this year. I created it as a tool to get students used to writing online, and for storing documents for assignments that are required for the current lessons. For some reason, my students do not like going to the Google site where I have all of my materials for the course stored.
Having participated in the past in several wiki groups, I found it easy to implement. The motivation to use is not as great as I predicted, but as I embed wikis into assignments, it will become more natural for the students. Students need to CREATE, and many have the tools, but do not know how to use them.
During the summer the students will begin to blog. I am most worried about plagiarism. One student even copied another's post on the wiki and called it her own. In an IB programme, students have to write, write, write, write....
The wiki, as I learned from reading and watching the class videos, is meant to be a collaborative tool. Although I have not used it to directly collaborate, I will in the future use it for students when they work in groups, which means I can also track their progress during brainstorming and prewriting. I think wikis are easier to set up for a teacher and have a clearer table of contents for students. Blogs are meant for journaling, but have can also be more appealing for visual purposes.
Overall, teaching with web2.0 tools requires trial and error, but we MUST TRY as teachers. Our students, if not taught to use them correctly, are at a disadvantage when they graduate. Most colleges require interactive learning, and getting started is the key to growing our 21st century learners. I need to link all of the tools I am using, and I am sure we will learn how to do that in an upcoming lesson.
I also found this video useful Kennedy vs. Nixon debate on wikis and blogs and this ASCD article. In the article, the author talks about one wiki where a group of teachers created an entire textbook: http://anatowiki.wetpaint.com/?t=anon.
I have so much to learn!
Having participated in the past in several wiki groups, I found it easy to implement. The motivation to use is not as great as I predicted, but as I embed wikis into assignments, it will become more natural for the students. Students need to CREATE, and many have the tools, but do not know how to use them.
During the summer the students will begin to blog. I am most worried about plagiarism. One student even copied another's post on the wiki and called it her own. In an IB programme, students have to write, write, write, write....
The wiki, as I learned from reading and watching the class videos, is meant to be a collaborative tool. Although I have not used it to directly collaborate, I will in the future use it for students when they work in groups, which means I can also track their progress during brainstorming and prewriting. I think wikis are easier to set up for a teacher and have a clearer table of contents for students. Blogs are meant for journaling, but have can also be more appealing for visual purposes.
Overall, teaching with web2.0 tools requires trial and error, but we MUST TRY as teachers. Our students, if not taught to use them correctly, are at a disadvantage when they graduate. Most colleges require interactive learning, and getting started is the key to growing our 21st century learners. I need to link all of the tools I am using, and I am sure we will learn how to do that in an upcoming lesson.
I also found this video useful Kennedy vs. Nixon debate on wikis and blogs and this ASCD article. In the article, the author talks about one wiki where a group of teachers created an entire textbook: http://anatowiki.wetpaint.com/?t=anon.
I have so much to learn!
