During the course of this semester I have heard the word "wiki" more than I can count. It was not until I took this course that I truly began to understand what a "wiki space" is. So, what is a "wiki space?" Well, the website defines it as "a space on the Web where you can share work and ideas, pictures and links, videos and media — and anything else you can think of. Wikispaces is special because we give you a visual editor and a bunch of other tools to make sharing all kinds of content as easy for students as it is for their teachers." Trust me, their not kidding. This website offers a free, did you read that? A free account for anyone to begin exploring their wiki space. This course required us to open our own wikispace account, which is totally free. It's even better since there is an Educator account that can be created by using our university e-mail accounts.Once we signed up for an account it appeared that Wikispace was a boring and blank space, but once you started to navigate around the pages you gained an idea of what you could accomplish or achieve within this space. This assignment required us to create a lesson plan. As an English teacher, I decided to use my wikispace to create a William Shakespeare Scavenger Hunt. As I began building my lesson, I realized that I could add just about anything to this page. I began adding photos, Voki's and quotes. I thought, "WOW" this is awesome. After several hours of contemplating my lesson plan direction I finally decided it was better to create my wiki pages first and then tackle my lesson plan later. Once I began building my wiki pages, I began to understand how to load videos, files and other internet prizes. I had to slow myself down or else I was going to incorporate more art, images and videos than content. This was apparently trial and error. Do wikipages offer an interesting, yet creative method to learning? I would say absolutely! When I designed my wikispaces I did it in a way that not only could my students read the instructions, but also they could listen to them. My wiki pages were designed to appeal to the tactile, auditory and visual learners. Perfect! These wikispaces aid the various learning styles of students. So, why wouldn't teachers use a wikispace? I imagine educators do not use wikispace for several reasons 1. they lack access to technology 2. they lack the knowledge about wikispaces and 3. they do not realize wikispaces can be benefical in aiding learning. I would have never used wikispaces if it were not for this course. At first, I moaned because I thought "here we go again," but once I began toying around with wikispaces I realized that the blank canvas could become a medium for some hardcore learning. As I continued to build my wikispace, I became relaxed and focused on how I was going to achieve my learning goals. Once I found ground I was able to speed through building lesson plans. It is a matter of trying that becomes the issue. If educators want to incorporate lessons that appeal to various learning styles then wikispaces hits home. Once educators get over their fears about technology and embrace it, they will realize that it is an easy tool to encourage learning. Mr.Holman, my awesome professor, uses wikis between his class and the classroom of his friend Mike. Here is an article from his website that addresses wikis http://www.teachersfortomorrow.net/1/category/wiki/1.html. Mr. Holman's philosophy is fairly simple to grasp. He believes that students should be in control of their learning and through technology students will not only control their learning, but they inject their own unique imprints on the world. This is not what he said exactly but it was my overall interpretation. I learned a lot from Mr. Holman this semester and not only did he teach us the value of trusting our students, but he trusted us enough to allow us to wonder around the internet in search of "good teaching tools" for our students. Mr. Holman is a tech buff and this interest has led him to realize that students can learn and retain information via technology, but the only barrier to this success is created by the educator. I will say that teaching Shakespeare is a difficult task for any student, but with the help and aid of a wikispace it can become a land of language and wonder for any student. My students will be able to engage in group activities that will allow them to create their own understanding of Shakespeare. These wikispaces allow students to display their own creations for the rest of the world to view (even if its local) and there is nothing stopping them from continuing to learn and create except the lack of knowledge from their teachers. I enjoyed making my own wiki pages and in order to understand how they work you have to engage, play and tinker around with it. Here is the link to my wikipage and I hope you enjoy it!!!! http://acrimonious13.wikispaces.com/ |
AuthorMy name is Crystal and I currently reside in Ohio. I have a Bachelor's in Psychology. I am a Graduate student at the University of Akron in the Master's of Integrated Language Arts. Archives
May 2012
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