Thing 15

Once again, I am blown away by another one of the Things! The concept is so simple, it almost seems to good to be true! The wiki is not something that I was too familiar with. I'm also more than a little embarrassed to admit that I now know what Wikipedia is all about. Anyway, back to my new found knowledge. My mind is just reeling with ideas for class projects. After looking at some of the sample wikis that students had created, I started thinking about how much something like that could have enhanced my education when I was in school. There are so many opportunities today to get students actively involved in their own learning. Wikis are the perfect means to do this. I especially loved the sample of the Holocaust wiki that was done by a history class. That just really inspired me. I might use a wiki to have the class create their own story, having each student become a different character. Another idea would be to create a wiki for a certain book we are reading in class. Here, the students could have discussions, post thoughts, and really dive into the concepts presented to them. I also think it would be nice if the schools created wikis so that teachers could add and share resources they have found to be useful. I saw that a few libraries were doing something similar. What a wonderful way to share what you know! I also loved the idea of using a wiki as book club/book review. I think that would be a great way to get students interested in reading. They could see how others interpreted a book or whether they enjoyed it or not. I think this would open up the world of reading to many children.