Wiki-Wiki Wild Wild West - Using WIKI's in the Classroom

Along with my blog and RSS feeder, I have now successfully developed a WIKI (http://phebemoore.wetpaint.com). Barely two weeks ago I did not have the faintest idea what a WIKI was or why one would be used, let alone that they could be useful in the classroom. So for me, this creation has been a significant achievement. From my understanding, WIKI's are a web page that, when created for a specific purpose, can be contributed to by other people in order to share ideas and communicate effectively online within a group. The author or creator of the WIKI is in complete control over who can see and contribute to the page making it a valuable tool both inside and outside the classroom. The WIKI I have created, ICT's for Learning in Science, is designed to be a collaborative effort by science teachers wishing to implement ICT's into their classrooms. It is a place to pool ideas, suggestions and experiences with the vision that it become a resource specifically for teachers of the science field.

As a tool in the classroom, WIKI's have enormous potential. As a student-centred planning tool, students can use a WIKI site as the base for developing, monitoring, editing and contributing to the 'plan of attack' for the project on which they wish to embark. With security settings available, access to the plan can be limited to just the students within the group, but students can also invite experts to contribute and suggest ideas and provide links on the site, such as possible sources of information, possible hurdles and encouragement. In this way, the project encourages active, self-directed and collaborative learning with a meaningful goal. It focuses on the "Create" component of engagement theory and Dimension 4 of the Dimensions of Learning: Use Knowledge Meaningfully, as it enables students to "define the nature of the project" and mould it into a topic of interest. (Kearsley & Shneiderman, 1999; Marzano & Pickering, 1997). It also enables students who would normally not feel confident enough to contribute ideas in the classroom environment to participate in online discussion and allowing students to feel safe in their learning environment, as encouraged by Marzano & Pickering (1997) in Dimension 1 of their Dimensions of Learning.

WIKI's could also be used to provide additional resources to students, including articles, images, pod casts and links to websites, either for assignment work or to enhance understanding of a topic discussed in the classroom, in a format where they can make notes, express thoughts, summarise, answer questions and reflect. These resources could be used to assist those struggling to grasp concepts and also for those wishing to excel and move ahead.

WIKI is yet another addition to my teaching 'tool box' and I look forward to implementing these ideas and more in my teaching career to engage learners of the 21st Century.

Reference List

Marzano & Pickering. (1997). Dimensions of Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Kearsley & Shneiderman. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology based teaching and learning.

Retrieved 1 March 2010 from http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Felder, R & Soloman, B. (1991). Index of Learning Styles.

Retrieved 10 March 2010 from http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSpage.html