Ideas+for+Use

How Can Educators Use Wikis?
toc There are many ways in which you can use a wiki with your students. Please add to this list!

"I have an idea at home", by Julian Santacruz, 2009. Used under a Creative Commons license.


 * Check out this **AMAZING list** of ways in which you can use wikis!
 * Here are some great **EXAMPLES **of wikis in education from the PD Presentation Wiki Toolkit.

Literacy

 * Collaborative story construction - here is an example of a wiki used to facilitate multiple classes in different schools that each write part of a story. Then they create a podcast of their story and post everything in the wiki.
 * Research and write about different topics related to the same theme.
 * Post podcasts, videos, images, and other types of media and respond to them.
 * Respond to the work of classmates in a wiki.
 * Use the annotation feature to highlight and comment on different aspects of a wiki. Here is an example video of how a teacher uses the annotation feature.

Group Projects

 * Organize different types of information during the research stage so that everyone in the group has access to it and can add to it. Here is an example of a teacher's first try at using a wiki to facilitate student projects and the finished student projects
 * Create a wiki around a particular theme and add to it on a long-term basis.
 * Use a group wiki (it works best for groups of 2-3) to keep track of work and reflect on it (see the Reflective Blog/Journal example in this wiki)
 * Show understanding in multiple forms - videos, images, podcasts, writing, etc.

Communication

 * Teachers can create their own wikis to communicate with students, highlight videos for viewing at home, and to provide reminders (see the Communication example in this wiki). (Teachers can restrict who has access to the wiki to either view and/or change it)
 * Use the discussion board for student and teacher asynchronous communication.
 * Team members can keep track of their meetings, work, and progress in one place instead of sending emails to each other.

Reflection, Formative Assessment, Portfolio

 * Students can keep a personal reflective journal and have it open to only the teacher and student.
 * Student groups can reflect on their progress through an entire project and get feedback from peers and their teacher.
 * Students can organize their work over a long period of time, all in one place, and share it with their peers, family, and the world if they choose to.

Collaborative Study and Review

 * Students can contribute to a wiki over the course of a unit and then access it to study in preparation for a unit exam
 * Students have anytime, anywhere access to their work and the work of their peers.