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= //**Group 3 Wikis**// =

= **// Introduction: //** = = **//This wikispace is a page dedicated to learning a little more about what wikispaces are and how they can be used in the classroom. Cherisa, Stephanie and Shanna are writing this page for their education 3170 class as an assignment. Hope you enjoy!//** =

= //**Definition and Capabilities:**// = = //**You know the message board that sits next to your phone at home? The one that everyone writes on to communicate with the rest of the house, leave messages, etc. Well a wiki is kind of like that. . . online. There is one word that is associated most with the purpose of wikis: collaboration. According to Tricia Bisoux wikis "have become go-to tools for collaboration" Bisoux (2010). Wikis are pages that everyone within the group can use to edit and share information. When it comes to wikis with vast amounts of information accuracy is attained by the many editors that are able to keep the information correct and up to date. Wikis can even be used by smaller groups to collaborate an activity or plan an event. This prevents all the e-mails from circulating in an unorganized manner and possibly not getting to all the group members.**// =

= = = //**Review Research:**// = = //** Technology is used for a lot of things inside and outside the classroom its very important for our society. In Teaching Assistive technology through wikis and embedded video tells of what preservice teachers need to do in their practice. It also tells of how it could help those with special needs (Dreon Jr., & Dietrich, 2009). For example for teen week the four verbs that are addressed are advocate, communicate, educate, and create (Daley, 2010). Under advocate it addresses some websites that are useful for blogs and to get teens to write. Communicating is important where teens can communicate with others and share feeling and just to talk. Education is important so teens understand what they are doing with the blog sites. The teens can also create their own blog and make the one they want and like (Daley, 2010). Technology as I said before is used in the classroom and in the society and its very important. For example the high seas need technology as much as a school does and maybe even more. As Academy researchers took a "lift" rather then "drag" ("Tomorrow in Brief", 2010). So no matter where you are in the world technology is important and some places are more advanced than others but they still have it. **// =

= **// Wikispaces can also be utilized in such classroom settings as science labs and English classes, and as was mentioned, be as far reaching globally as Ireland, to India and the United States. At Northeastern Illinois University (NIU), science teachers are utilizing Wikispaces to have students collaborate to create group lab reports and presentations. Large group work is becoming more common in today's classroom settings, say NIU chemistry faculty, Edward Elliot and Ana Fraiman. They have created a wikispace called "Chem-wiki", which "is an extension of the multidimensional Web lab reporting that was previously in place in order to adapt the previous laboratory work model to the new reality of group collaboration. This project aims to enhance the process of collaboration by facilitating the sharing of students’ ideas at all times" (Elliot & Fraiman, 2010). //** = = = =//There are so many uses for wikis that it's easy to use your imagination and create your own ways to utilize this effective tool. One creative way I saw demonstrated through some friends was organizing a camping trip. When it comes to education, we as teachers need to demonstrate the same creativity. In 2010 at West Valley High School teachers and staff decided to experiment with different ways to use wiki spaces with their students. Their project resulted in wiki spaces that helped the teachers connect with other educators, the community connect to the school, and students to connect with eachother and all of the above (Roe, 2010). It is clear that we should never limit ourselves when it comes to technical possibilities within our school.//=

= //**Educational Applications in K-12 classrooms:**// = = //**Wikis have the wonderful ability to bring people together. That connection may just be across the classroom, but it can also be as far reaching as the other side of the world. In 2006 two high school teachers, one in Georgia and the other in Bangladesh decided to use technology to create an opportunity in multicultural cooperation. They introduced students in both locations to each other through videos posted on the web, e-mail and yes. . . classroom wikispaces. One student commented that this kind of technology allowed the students to "connect, communicate and cooperate with people from various cultures" (Ferriter, 2010). This can be helpful especially in Social Studies classrooms and in learning about different cultures.**// =

= **// Tracy Tarasiuk, an elementary school teacher from Illinois, s aid she noticed changes in the way her students were learning as she did observations and recognized how much students used technology on a daily basis (2010). One student in particular, she noted was talented in sports and music, but didn't enjoy reading assignments and showed poor results on standardized tests. She discovered one day that he was also extremely talented in creating online videos. This student was reading and writing but all of his interests and work was being done online. Ms. Tarasiuk decided she would incorporate technology into her classrooms by taking students to computer labs and using wikispaces. She reported positive results from this teaching experience.//** =

= //**A teacher in Dublin, Ireland, discovered the benefits of using wiki internationally (Graham, 2010). His idea was similar to what we are working on, in that he wanted his students to research wikis and discover the benefits of using them in connecting globally and also on reporting on a global commodity chain. In the article "Teaching Notes", another example is given of a professor in India who wants his students to use wikis to research culture and society (2010). Wikispaces are sources for basic research, as well as connection to the world and those around us. It can also be a useful tool within the classroom that can help us future teachers find ways to help our students connect with the subject matter we are teaching.**// =

= //**Samples:**// = http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/ this website helps with presentations and other items to help with teaching.

http://burton4.wikispaces.com/ This is an example a wiki research page.

http://dancelabs.wikispaces.com/ An example of a dance wiki.

= //**Reference:**// =

Bisoux, T. (2010). Technology. BizEd, 9 (1), 58-61. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Daley, M. (2010). Free Online Tools for Serving Teens Four Verbs to Live By and Great Technologies to Try. //Young Adult Library Services//, //8//(2), 23-25. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Dreon Jr., O., & Dietrich, N. (2009). Turning Lemons into Lemonade: Teaching Assistive Technology through Wikis and Embedded Video. //TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning//, //53//(1), 78-80. doi:10.1007/s11528-009-0241-6.

Elliott Ill, E., & Fraiman, A. (2010). Using Chem-Wiki To Increase Student Collaboration through Online Lab Reporting. //Journal of Chemical Education//, //87//(1), 54-56. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Ferriter, W.M. (2010). How flat is your classroom?. Educational Leadership, 67 (7), 86-87. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Graham, M. (2010). Teaching Notes. //Radical Teacher//, (87), 70-72. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Roe, M. J. (2010). Wiki technology and the return to rigor. Leadership, 39 (3), 20-22. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Tarasiuk, T. (2010). Combining Traditional and Contemporary Texts: Moving My English Class to the Computer Lab. //Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy//, //53//(7), 543-552. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

(2010). TOMORROW IN BRIEF. //Futurist//, //44//(2), 2. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.