After completing a group assignment on creating a wiki, it opened my eyes to the benefits of using wikis in the classroom. When I began this assignment, I honestly wasn't very open to the idea of a wiki being a useful resource in the elementary classroom. I like the idea of a wiki as a means of communication with parents and as a place that kids can view as well. But since I know that not all my students have internet access at home, I am at a loss as how to use it without outside classroom time access.
However, I did come across this site and found it to be very useful as means of many wiki ideas. One area I am still confused on with a wiki is its difference between a website. I currently have a website for my classroom which includes everything that I have seen posted on wikis and blogs. So, I guess it is safe to say that I don't foresee myself using a wiki in the classroom since I have a classroom website that I use diligently throughout the year. However, I am open to ideas if I am missing a difference between the two???
To me, the difference is that on a wiki, others can collaborate, edit and control the content. On your website, you would be the only one that controls the content. For certain tasks, a wiki makes sense, like research projects, etc. If you are using a website to show dates, homework, etc. to communicate with parents, that's probably the best tool.
ReplyDelete