Wikis and the Classroom

I always think of ways to improve, most of that means in the classroom. I think of what I could have done better, cool games, activities, stupid, funny or critical things kids said; all kinds of stuff. When I was introduced to the Spotsylvania County Online Resource for Education (SCORE), I immediately looked at all the possible things I could do with it. There were crosswords, quizzes, tests, etc. There were also wiki options.

I set up the wiki and have played around with its features, but I have yet to implement it. Thanks to the model set up and the reading, I think I have figured out what I need to do. My biggest stumbling block was figuring out how to set up the wiki. As modeled, the pages were previously set up and then we added to the pre-setup pages. Some people made the links to other posts. Seeing that with basic wiki information, a large group of people CAN make a wiki, why not try it with students?

Now I need to consider actual implementation. I was thinking of taking my mid-term review--a list of geography terms and IDs--and having students choose what they want to post on. If they make the entries in a standardized format, others can edit, hyperlink, and proofread previous posts. Hopefully, students will become possessive and proud of their collected knowledge. I am thinking of doing this for SOL review just before SOL time comes around.