As I searched through the Wikis of other schools, I thought about how that would benefit my media center in an elementary school. They looked much like the media webpage I have now with links to research tools for the students to use. The additional information I noticed was that it had links to the grade level topics. While I could use a wiki to include the same topics, my question was if it would be beneficial to change from using a webpage and begin using a wiki. The pros would be the teachers could add information for the students in their classes, the students would be able to complete assignments that require group work without taking up as much class time, and give the students more independent learning. The cons would include the access of computers for students who do not have one at home, who would be the moderator to maintain a safe environment for the students and teachers, and if it would actually be used.
While wikis are great for middle and high school students, I'm still not sure they would benefit the elementary level. Can anyone give me any pointers on how I would be able to get my teachers on board with doing one for our school?
Joanne, your example of a media specialist wiki is exactly what my school system needs. I love the idea of sharing ideas and information with my colleagues. I agree that my school email gets full very quickly of items that could be better shared using a wiki.
ReplyDeleteAs for your question of whether a wiki would work at the elementary level, I think that it would. I don’t know if it could be set up and used the same way that secondary students would use it, but I do think that elementary students would use it and benefit from it. My daughter is in second grade and she loves to read and research topics using sites that I have bookmarked for her. The wiki is pretty much the same thing. Teachers could create a private wiki and allow students to use it to research topics that the teacher posts.
I don’t think I would change my webpage to a wiki. I would keep my webpage separate and help teachers create more specific wikis for their classes. Links to these wikis can be found on the Media Center Webpage. I think it would be a bit much to manage a wiki as a main page because it allows others to make changes and additions. Now, I do know that you can protect wiki pages as mentioned in another West GA Techie’s blog, but I would feel my information is safer on a webpage. There is so much specific information that can be organized on a wiki. Student projects and discussions about subject matter are a couple of examples. This just makes more sense to me because teachers can create their own wikis to address the needs of their individual classes especially in middle and high school.
ReplyDeleteThis does not mean that I don’t think the media center should have wikis. I think they should, but they should be more focused on things that are pertinent to programs of the media center like technology troubleshoots for teachers and student book reviews for students to share their thoughts about books they’ve read for class or for personal pleasure.
There are so many ways I can think of to use wikis with older students but I too am having a hard time coming up with some innovative ideas for students to use them in elementary school.