Week 5: Wikis in the classroom

Wikis tend to have a bad name following them. The "wiki-leaks" have been on the news and have attached the bad tag to wiki. Also, with the abundance of satire websites available, the accuracy of Wikipedia sites are always questioned. Research courses have warned me about using it as a source of information.  Richardson writes: "The collaborative environments that wikis facilitate can teach students much about how to work with others, how to create community, and how to operate in a world where the creation of knowledge and information is more and more becoming a group effort" (69).

A huge problem in math is the word problem. It is dreaded by everyone in existence.  As a teacher, all you want to do is share knowledge. Sometimes one of my students teaches better than I. By creating a wiki in my own classroom, I am able to create an interactive assignment.  Here the students can share their approach to solving these problems.  The part I am interested in seeing is the way I may be able to have interactivity with students from different classes not just a group. This would be a great example of the "Flat Classroom" that Richardson explain.

Besides the interactive capabilities, wiki is also a great source of help. I have looked at other teachers' wikis relative to math.  One wiki is only for teacher use and set up for sharing how to teach topics or show best practices.  Other wikis I have seen are for the students to develop either understanding of topics, share AP Practice tips and post video lessons.