The World of Wikis

You know what I would like to see, someone’s blog failure. Typically, one doesn’t want to publish their mistakes, only successes; however, some of my greatest lessons learned have come from my failures or the failures of other teachers. I would like to see a list of things to avoid when blogging or making a wiki. The only things that I have come across so far are protecting the students from “the evil blogs and internet” and to have expectations/rules. What are some other things that didn’t go well and should be avoided?

I made a wiki for my class this year. I only let the students be readers, and I used it post information. Now I’m wondering what projects I could have had them post on the wiki. As a LMS, I feel comfortable helping another teacher set up a wiki, and the readings have given great examples. However, as I start going through each piece in my head of how to start a “well used wiki,” I quickly get overwhelmed.

The points about Wikipedia have been very interesting this week. I honestly didn’t know there were so many advocates of Wikipedia. I think I’ve turned a corner, but it is very challenging to take Wikipedia as a credible resource. This might just be one of those things that will take a long time for me to change my thinking. I’m open to it, but it will just take time.

How to use this info...

On Friday I was able to visit the district where I will be working next year. The LMS that is there now told me about how many resources are blocked at the schools. I think what I will use most in the resources we have read so far is to educate the administration about the power technology, and how students can be instructed to use it properly. All blogs are blocked for students, but teaches can access them. Gmail and Google Docs are also blocked for students. We are gearing up to implement these technologies into the schools.

In my current district, I will share with the English teachers the idea of an e-portfolio for student work. They are trying to find the best service for their blogging/class website needs. They want to get more involved with on-line discussions outside of class time. Going though some of the suggested sites will help me inform them of their options as the make the decision for next year. Right now, they are looking at getting subscriptions to Ning, but they might like something else.