Exploring wikis
Wikis are gaining popularity with teachers who recognise its power as a creative and collaborative tool. Teachers are exploring ways of integrating them into their teaching and learning. Some are sharing examples of student work, others are encouraging students to contribute to a class wiki.
Wikis are already being used extensively in education, though often for reading rather than writing. Wikipedia is often used as a source of information, for example, and has a specific schools section [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] organised by the subjects of the National Curriculum.
Activity 4 gives you a chance to explore some examples of how teachers and school advisers are using wikis. However, as pointed out in the e-safety section, teachers may decide to hide from view what their classes are doing so the best uses may well be hidden!
Activity 4 Field trip
The objectives of this course activity are to:
- look at some existing wikis that are used for learning and teaching
- share thoughts about how they are being used.
4.1 Looking at existing wikis Table 2 shows several examples of the use of wikis in primary schools. Go to the examples by clicking on the links. Reflect on how they are being used to enhance learning and teaching and on the way in which they are presented and structured.
| Key stage | Curriculum | What's this about? |
| 3 | English | The Caves of Mull is a text based adventure game created by pupils of Perth Academy, Scotland as part of their English programme. |
| 3 | English | GlobalDover is an English writing project by a year 8 class at Dover Grammar School for Boys. The aim of the project was to encourage students to write on a range of topics about their school and life in the UK (inform, explain and describe) and to link into schools in other Dovers around the world. |
| 3 | Geography | Ysgol Rhyngrwyd is a geography wiki for Years 7, 8 and 9 at InterHigh, Wales. This wiki includes PowerPoints, class notes, homework and links to relevant websites. |
| 3 | Science | Science Alive is a classroom wiki developed by two science classes based in Canada. Students choose their own topic, and then explore it. |
| 4 | History | GCSE History is a wiki for students at Ridgewood School, Doncaster, to store knowledge gained during their History GCSE studies. There are also examples of student group work. |
| 4 | English | Midsummer Dreaming, a wiki for students at Perth Academy who are studying William Shakespeare. Students select a character in the play and write about them. |
Reminder
Have you read and responded to introductions posted at the beginning of the course?
4.2 Discussing with others. Look at one or two of the examples above and reflect on how each of these have been set up and how they might be used. Go to the forum and discuss them with the other course members. The forum contains more specific guidance on the things to look for and think about. You should expect to go back to the forum at least three times to take part in the discussion.
Teacher Voice
The tasks are challenge-based learning; the pupils are given experiments to do and they've got to decide how to record them and then post them to the “A teacher developed and published a poetry course on a wiki and shared it with colleagues. 'Within … two months, two other teachers utilized parts of the same tutorial and project description, taking what they needed from mine and adapting it to their own….The knowledge was there, ready to be shared. All that was required was a medium of communication that fit the social dynamic imposed upon us in K-12 schools. The wiki was that medium.
This extract is taken from the article, ‘Using a wiki in a community of practice to strengthen k-12 education’ (2008). This is an optional activity.
Wikis and e-safety