Thing #11

Wikis: Well we all know the most important site on the web these days is http://wikipedia.org/. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that stores the "sum of human knowledge". Every day new entries are added about people, places, things, historical events - even the news as it happens. We get the pedia part of wikipedia, but what is a wiki? When I visited Hawaii, the transit that we boarded was called a "wiki-wiki", which means "quick". So, a wiki is a website where anyone can edit anything, anytime and QUICK. So, the question is; is this a good resource for students' research work? The consensus among educators seems to tell students to use it as a starting point, but not as a sole research. Wikis are a great collaborative tool among teachers or districts to collect and share information, not just for students. Students, or staff can post and edit entries to a wiki, add graphics, or links as well. As students interact, they learn to collaborate, publish, and write. I think when students read something on a wiki, they are already thinking about how to "change it".