I REALLY like the idea of using a class wiki. Obviously, I think that whether or not your students will actually be able to contribute to the site, will depend on the grade that you are teaching, but if your students are old enough I think it is a great way for students to collaborate with each other. I also like the idea of having a class wiki, even if your students are too young to be able to handle the responsibility of editing. Being able to have a place where you can update the things that are going on in your classroom is great for parents, grandparents, etc. Although this seems more like just a website, I think that you could still have students editing the page with you. With the permission of their teacher, you could ask an older grade to collaborate with your class on a class wiki. This way the older students are involved in editing on an individual basis and the younger class can maybe edit the page as a group, with the teacher helping. It could be a collaborative effort amongst both classes, and both are still getting that sense of responsibility when it comes to their class wiki.
I am still unsure about whether or not I feel that Wikipedia is a reliable source. The author makes many good points as to why we should be able to use it, and trust it as a good source of information but I have a hard time forgetting that people can edit the information any way they want to. It seems like there are many pros to wikipedia, which even just one pro is more than I thought there was before I read the chapter!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you on the thought about wikipedia. It's probably a good source because all of the bogus info seems to be wiped out within a short amount of time, but just the thought of getting information from random people who may have very little education, makes me weary on the whole wikipedia thing. But I can't denie it, I have used it before!...just not in papers!
ReplyDeletewhoops...type-o (deny*)
ReplyDeleteI also understand your hesitation about wikipedia. I felt the same way before this class. The fact that the false information does seem to disappear quickly makes me feel better about it though. I feel comfortable using it and generally trust that the information I'm reading is true, but I still don't think I would use it as a source and cite it on a reference page for a college paper! I've been told that would be unaccepted by way too many professors.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of having two grade-level classes working on a wiki is a great idea, Susan! You're differentiating and both grades of students have ownership, too. Win-Win!
ReplyDelete