Reaction to 5 Strategies to Using Wikis in the Classroom

Wikis are becoming very popular, maybe it is because they are one of the easiest web 2.0 applications to use, or it is because it help engage the students of the 21st century. There are more than 180,000 wikis used in classrooms today. Wikis are a free application, that requires no dowloading software, and has privacy settings to keep your students information confidential. The wiki sites allow students to work together without having to be together.
Students can work on collaborative projects with the wiki. All the students have to have is access to the internet outside of school, and then they can log on at anytime and work on the project. This allows the students to work as a team without having to make schedules perfect, since we are so busy now this is way more ideal. Many times school projects get overwhelming because you can not get a time set to work with your whole group, there is always conflicts, the wiki eliminates this aspect.
Students can also demonstrate their knowledge on the wiki. The can make submit their work to the wiki, and cite sources along with doing this like making time lines for history class. The nice thing about this aspect is the organization factor, instead of having a million papers sitting around that you are trying to collaberate, the wiki will do it instead. A time saving application, yet a vauable one for educational purposes, it lets the students spend more time learning than searching.
Teachers can use the wiki to connect with studnets and to give them a whole list of resources that they can benifit from throught the year. The website allows you to insert new and delete old at any time you want. This gives your students the benifit of easily locating rescources that are acceptable for their work.
The wiki can work as a classrooms news page, or daily event planner. The teacher can put all the class information into the wiki site and keep everything for the class easy to locate. They can add a calender, newletter, homework assignments, notes, classroom rules, and many other things. Then the students are the parents or cargivers of the students can easy locate everything they need and stay informed.
One of my favorite features is the idea of using the wiki as a filling cabinet. The wiki can store files, images, videos, student artifact, and almost anything you can think of. It is a controlled area where only the teacher can access it, meaning it's safe. Also, the teacher can reach this "filing cabinet" anytime they wish, they do not need to be on school grounds to do so. It is great as a backup resource.
As the popularity of the wiki grows so does the demand of finding new way to improve the wiki and its uses. Although, just by having a wiki does not mean that you are engaging the students it needs to be a two way street. The students have to be willing to use the wiki and share information. When the wiki is used appropriately and each person is using the site then it becomes very engaging for all students. The wiki is a great way to help engage our new 21st century learners.

Wetzel, D. (2009). Suite101. 5 strategies for using wikis int he classroom. Retrieved October 15, 2009, from http://teachingtechnology.suite101.com/article.cfm/5_strategies_for_using_wikis_in_the_classroom