Wikis+in+Education

What a tremendous tool! I had been introduced to wikis during a common inservice in the fall but had little understanding of them when the instruction was over. After watching the video and seeing how other teachers/classes are using them, I am in awe! I am hooked! Before I was done watching the video on the basics of the wikis my brain was instantly engaged in how I could use them in my classroom!

In my Spanish II classes we recently did research, and then we wrote and performed skits. If we had incorporated the use of wikis, we would have completed the assignment more quickly utilizing more input from more people, and would have had much better research information overall!

I really enjoyed the //__The 1,000 Tales__// wiki. It is a simple, yet ingenious idea. We could use that so easily in my classes! We could study Spanish literature and Hispanic authors, and then follow the same guidelines by writing our own stories in Spanish.

I could utilize wikis in our next unit. I have a group of particularly talented sophomores. For our next chapter I have decided that instead of blindly following on to the next chapter, I am going to allow them to choose the topic of study. They will choose the topic, the vocabulary, the grammar points, and the projects to accompany this unit. How much easier will this be to accomplish if we use wikis? Tremendously easier! I am becoming more and more excited about wikis as I consider this idea!