Using Wikis

I was first introduced to wikis several years ago in my Tech Tools for Educators class and have since used them with students for a a number of different assignments. In my sophomore class at Maple Grove Senior High, I used a class wiki to help students share poetry they had written. The students themselves also created wiki pages to share research they had done on the 1960's in preparation for reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I've done similar research projects with students at Chaska to prepare them for reading different books, including A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah and Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare.

Whether because I haven't done enough reading or thinking about it, I have never used wikis for more than just sharing information or writing. I have a strong feeling that there are a lot more uses for wikis than what I've used them for. I wish I had more time (doesn't everyone?) to explore and read more about what I could use them for.

I really liked the idea of the Dinkytown ethnography that we did in class. Instead of just doing a straight research project, it might be interesting to do an ethnographic study--via pictures and videos over the Web--of places where our stories take place. Like an ethnographic study of Sierra Leone, which is where A Long Way Gone takes place. It would be super cool to find a school in Sierra Leone with whom we could collaborate--interviews, photo sharing, etc.

I could also see using a wiki in my creative writing class. It would be super cool to team up with another creative writing class somewhere and have the students share their writing. How cool would it be for kids to know they have other eyes out there reading their work and commenting on it?

I think it could also be possible to use a wiki for my theater class. Kids could share useful websites they've found for monologues, upload designs for sets, costumes, or lights, upload videos of themselves rehearsing scenes or monologues, share videos/photos of productions of plays we're reading, etc.

There are a number of great ideas for wikis--I just need the time to think through them and figure out how they can best help students learn.