Like me, I’m sure that many of you had or have no idea what a wiki is. I searched for hours trying to grasp and understanding of this ‘mysterious’ wiki and finally I think I have got it!!
Think of Wikipedia. We all know that everyone can add and edit the information on any on the pages without any concrete guidelines. However, experts in the ‘community’ can come onto the page and challenge the information that has been provided. Basically, a wiki is a database of information around a specific topic in which a community has a collaborative approach of adding and removing information.
Although it all might seem a little vague still, I can see numerous applications of this in the classroom. For example – say the class has a semester around World War I. The teacher can set up a wiki for the students to post up any ‘interesting’ information or websites that they have found. All students can access this and collaboratively analyse the information. Instead on each person doing a whole heap of research – the class can work together.
Once I thought about it, I realised just how valuable this tool could be. It provides a sense of community and teamwork and makes sure that all students are on the right track. It minimises the amount of searching for information that students sometimes see as endless and frustrating and provides an opportunity for students to communicate freely.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment