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Invite A WIKI Into Your Class

May 5, 2008 If you'll recall, I first wrote about wikis with Kathy Cassidy's blooming bloggers here and here.  And thanks to Troy - over at Wetpaint - he connected me to another wiki user, Eighth grade teacher, Teresa Hinkel, who also uses the free Wetpaint software. 

Teresa's class used a wiki for their unit on my all time favorite novel The Diary of Anne Frank, and it drummed up lots of enthusiasm from her students. On a side note, when I was little, my sister and I would stay up late nights reading this story. So for me, those memories alone, was good karma for me to meet Teresa.

*So where is her wiki, you ask? To protect the privacy of her students,  Teresa has not made her wiki public*

I completely understand, Teresa. 

Here's my interview...

A.B. How did you get interested in using wikis?
I took a class on making WebQuests a couple of years ago and a teacher had used a wiki to "publish" the information after the students finished the WebQuest.  I thought it was a great way to publish the students' work and and planned on using one myself since that time.

A.B. Was it a difficult process for your students to adapt to?
No it was not difficult.  Any student that had a question was quickly helped by peers. This is what made it fun; their ease with the technology and excitement of something new.

A.B. What has the use of wikis done to your curriculum?
The wiki has given my students an excellent opportunity to write and question like never before.  The students all had a chance to discuss ideas from the novel by writing their answers on the wiki. This gave everyone a way to read others answers and comments and respond to them.  In a class discussion it is very hard to get all to participate especially my introverts.  I sat and read my students responses at night and was just so proud of their insights and comments to each other. The writings the students did using Anne Frank as an example were available for all to read and they really liked this way of publishing their work.

A.B. Are you supported by your fellow teachers and principal?
Yes they are supportive, especially my principal and vice principal.  

A.B. Explain - in detail - how you have used wikis in your unit on Anne Frank. What is the process?
I used the wiki to publish a syllabus, daily assignments and announcements.  I downloaded  articles for the students to read like a history of WWII and short biography on Adolf Hitler.  These were available for the students to read and then they were asked to make comments. We read these articles before starting
the novel. Then we began reading the novel in small groups. They were asked to post questions on the novel as they read and to answer other students posts/questions.  Finally they were asked to look at Anne Frank's writing and use her example to write their own diary entries.

On the student assignment page I listed their discussion groups and research topics so others could see what topics were being done so we would not have repeated topics. This helped and other students knew what peers were doing and during the oral presentations they made comments. (like I am interested in what you researched I saw you were doing The Vonn Trapp Family etc.)

So I used the wiki as a primary means of communication and graded questions and writing assignments directly from the wiki. When I needed to make a comment to a student the wiki was very easy way to send a message via their profile. I also embedded several polls about using the wiki and they enjoyed that while he gave me insight to what they thought.

I have to say this was the most fun I have had teaching a novel and the students have never gotten into this novel as much as they did or read it as fast.  The comments and questions that were made gave everyone a voice and all felt it was their wiki.

After reading The Diary of Anne Frank  we read The Summer of my German Soldier. When we started our second novel the students asked me "when will you send out the invitations to our new wiki?"  I told them I was not doing that this time and they were bummed.  As we finish this second novel I realize we are not getting as much out of it and I do not know what everyone is thinking. I will use a wiki for all our novels next year.

Posted by Amy Bowllan on May 5, 2008 | Comments (6)