Exploration of wikis
Wiki is defined by Lever-Duffy and McDonald (2011) as a site in which content is written jointly so that it can be accessed by anyone who can revise, append or amend the information which is provided by the wiki. A wiki is an active form of social interaction which is critical for effective learning and which is structured by its content. By so doing when a wiki page is edited by someone, the current page is also accessible for amendment as well (EDTK2030 Unit 4, 2013). Wikis are explained as tools used by multiple authors who mutually edit the pages of a wiki in an effort to produce a single resource (Klobas, 2006).
The educational wiki which I located can be found on the following link.
http://mrsoskil.wikispaces.com/home. The website is designed for students so that they can showcase their work, find information, and share their ideas about what they are doing in school. The wiki is quite interactive and appealing to the eyes. It is designed to engage both students and parents. There is an enormous volume of information that can be accessed on this wiki site which involves showcasing the work and activities undertaken by students through the use of videos.
This wiki is very user friendly. Lots of links to related content is provided thus making the wiki interactive and interesting. This particular wiki caters for the various learning styles of children. For example tasks given are presented in a number of ways to cater for visual, auditory, as well as kinesthetic learners. Parents are not left out. They can follow and access the work that their children in this grade are expected to cover by the end of the year in the various subject areas. It therefore provides them with an opportunity to keep abreast and provide assistance where necessary based on the various topics that are to be taught throughout the year. One good feature of this wiki is that it spans over a few years, making it easy to access children’s work during any one of the featured years.
Although there are many positives about this wiki, it does not allow editing from just about anyone. However the editor invites other educators to work with him to edit, revise and make amends. I find this wiki to be thorough and well organized.
References
Klobas, J. (2006). Wikis, from social software to social information space. In J. Klobas (Ed.),
Wikis: Tools for information work and collaboration. Oxford, England: Chandos Publishing.
Lever-Duffy, J. and Mc Donald, J. B. (2011). Teaching and learning with technology. (4th
ed). Boston: Pearson.
ECFS2030 Information and Communication Technology in Education. (2013). Unit 4: Educational application of web 2.0. tools. [Essential reading]. UWI Open Campus.
The educational wiki which I located can be found on the following link.
http://mrsoskil.wikispaces.com/home. The website is designed for students so that they can showcase their work, find information, and share their ideas about what they are doing in school. The wiki is quite interactive and appealing to the eyes. It is designed to engage both students and parents. There is an enormous volume of information that can be accessed on this wiki site which involves showcasing the work and activities undertaken by students through the use of videos.
This wiki is very user friendly. Lots of links to related content is provided thus making the wiki interactive and interesting. This particular wiki caters for the various learning styles of children. For example tasks given are presented in a number of ways to cater for visual, auditory, as well as kinesthetic learners. Parents are not left out. They can follow and access the work that their children in this grade are expected to cover by the end of the year in the various subject areas. It therefore provides them with an opportunity to keep abreast and provide assistance where necessary based on the various topics that are to be taught throughout the year. One good feature of this wiki is that it spans over a few years, making it easy to access children’s work during any one of the featured years.
Although there are many positives about this wiki, it does not allow editing from just about anyone. However the editor invites other educators to work with him to edit, revise and make amends. I find this wiki to be thorough and well organized.
References
Klobas, J. (2006). Wikis, from social software to social information space. In J. Klobas (Ed.),
Wikis: Tools for information work and collaboration. Oxford, England: Chandos Publishing.
Lever-Duffy, J. and Mc Donald, J. B. (2011). Teaching and learning with technology. (4th
ed). Boston: Pearson.
ECFS2030 Information and Communication Technology in Education. (2013). Unit 4: Educational application of web 2.0. tools. [Essential reading]. UWI Open Campus.