Thing 21

Describe a wiki you found that inspires you to create one of your own. What hurdles might stand in the way of your using a wiki? What would it take to remove the hurdles? Is it worth the fight?
I enjoyed the Wiki made by the 5th grade class on the novel Turn Homeward Hanalee. I can see great potential for using this format in the classroom to create a resource that students can work on collaboratively studying all facets of a novel, its creation, historical background,
vocabulary, related topics, and so forth.

One hurdle that might stand in my way is my own experience with managing this kind of application. I'd have to start small. I'm sure that I can find a project that is simple enough to handle until I get the hang of it. I've tried lots of group work before and much of it has been mediocre because students couldn't get together easily. I would hope students would like this and be proud of their accomplishments. It would certainly aid their creativity to have so much on the internet available to them -- text, pictures, video, audio, images, etc. all with the click of a button!

Another hurdle is dealing with students who do not have internet access at home. I know that students without computers can work at school, at a friend or relative's home, or at a public library, but some students could use this as an excuse. Hopefully, students would be enthused enough to overcome this hurdle themselves -- taking responsibility for finding a place to work because they want to contribute in a meaningful project. If this enthusiasm is absent, I could find a way to require student participation by providing time in the classroom.

I'd also want students to be accountable for their work. Many slackers would cut and paste material they found on other sites. There would have to be some checks and balances on the students to make sure that they are really producing work that is original.

I know that a social studies teacher in my school had a wiki this year as part of his AP Government class for a project on the presidential election. I know our media specialist, Karen Villegas, helped him out setting it up. I am fortunate to have Karen and Barry as pioneers who can help me in my own exploration and use of wikis. It's worth it to try out new techniques. It energizes both the instructor and the students.