Classroom Technology: Wikispaces in the Classroom
As teachers, we are constantly looking for new ways to engage our students and increase student participation. A great place to start is with a wikispace and they are free for educators! So what is a wikispace and why should you use one? Great question! A wiki is a website that allows you and your class a space to collaboratively share tools and edit together. For example a teacher can have a class wiki and post homework, answer questions, post classroom notes, interactive tools, class calendar, syllabus and much much more. The students in turn can submit homework, ask questions, respond to classmates, edit work, engage in group projects, and look at others work-- just to name a few. This is a great way to use technology to bring the classroom to any place. Wikispaces also give parents/guardians an easy way to see what is going on in their students classroom as well. Please check out the videos below for some basic information about wikis:
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As education progresses, it is no longer effective or acceptable just to sit and lecture at the front of the class. The world around us is progressing at a rapid pace and so are our students. As teachers we need to bring our content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge up to date with technology and wikispaces is an effective tool for schools on a budget. Wikispaces can be used for any subject, the uses are endless and it is easy to use! For example, in my classroom, showing and reviewing math techniques for students would be something I would post, along with what I listed above. That way if they missed something in class they could easily go online and see exactly how we did it in class that day. I would also post parent/guardian resources since mathematics tends to be a subject parent/guardians struggle with when it comes to student homework help. This is just the beginning for how I could use this tool in my classroom.
Here are some resources for you to start your wikispace for your classroom:
Wiki-walk-through
Eduational Wikis
Start your Wikispace here!
Here is a little video I created highlighting wikispaces in schools:
Here are some resources for you to start your wikispace for your classroom:
Wiki-walk-through
Eduational Wikis
Start your Wikispace here!
Here is a little video I created highlighting wikispaces in schools: