A Wiki is a website that is
continuously “under construction.” This website can be edited by any visitors,
making it a great way to collaborate and share information with others. Wikis
have mainly been used outside of the classroom to this point but could be
helpful in classroom instruction as well.
Currently, Wikis are primarily used
in higher education and when used in the K-12 setting it seems to only be used
by teachers.. After learning more about Wikis I feel like K-12 students
would benefit greatly from participating in the creation of a Wiki. Students
could use a Wiki to create class study guides that everyone could contribute
to, or a class website. A class website
could have posts about what the students are doing in class, and even be a
space for the teacher, students, and even parents to quickly interact outside of
the classroom if there are any questions.
I found a website that explains
more about Wikis and how they can be used in the classroom, but most
importantly gives examples! The site has various examples of classroom Wikis
that teachers have created. These Wikis show how students and teachers can
effectively interact when there are questions and shows how the students can
work together to compile information. By giving students the necessary tools,
they can independently research and add their information to the Wiki, which
lends itself to an inquiry-based style of learning. This kind of learning keeps
students engaged therefore Wikis could be a great addition to any classroom.
