"Cool Tools for Schools" and "Getting Tricky with Wikis" - Two Exceptional Resources As
an educator interested in creating engaging wikis, you'll want to keep
sites like "Cool Tools for Schools" and "Getting Tricky with Wikis"
handy for your Web 2.0 needs.
Julie,
an 8th grade teacher, has made great use of both of these resources.
First introduced to wikis at an educational conference, she was
inspired by the creative and collaborative learning she saw happening
with wikis and decided to build a similar learning experience for her
kids. She began a wiki, set up the project guidelines, and added her
students. Since the project started, Julie has had several kids wanting
to do more advanced things with her wiki. She was able to help them by
using these two great sites.
Tips and Tricks: Create Templates for Your Wiki Pages
This
month we introduce you to page templates, a feature that allows you to
set up and use templates for your course projects or weekly reports.
A NYC School Saves Time and Money with Wikis
Steve
Cohen and the Allen-Stevenson School in Manhattan use wikis to save
time and money as they coordinate their parent-teacher conferences.
They find that using wikis for these conferences eliminates lost notice
slips to parents, phone calls to reschedule, and confusion about times.
And getting the parents and teachers up and running with wikis is much
easier and less expensive than using other coordination software.
Blogging and Wikis Sites
•Blogger-Create Your Blog Now
A free resource for creating and managing a classroom blog.
•Bravenet WebBlogs
Create your WebBlog here.
•Landmarks Blog Meister
An online blogging and hosting tool for classroom teachers.
•Wikispaces-Wikis for Everyone
Create a wiki for your classroom here.
•Wetpaint Free Wikis
Create easy to use Wikis here.
•PB Wikis
Create a username account here to create a free PB Wiki.
Examples from Classrooms
Sarah Plain and Tall Book Blog
Students and teacher share thoughts and identify elements of the book.
Mrs. Young's Summer Book Club
A classroom blog set up to visit about summer reading materials.
Learning in Greece Blog
Janice Friesen uses her blog to communicate her travels in Greece with students back in the USA.
Blogical Minds Classpage
An example of a blog that is used as the class website.
Mr. C's Class Blog
A 5th grade blog from Noel Elementary.
Collaborative Wikis by Pam Lowe
Here are some wikis that the students in Pam's classroom are using.
Crayon Wiki Example
An example free wiki created at wikispaces.com.
SouthCentral eMINTS Example
A quick, example wiki created at PBwikis.
Green Stream Blog
Created by educator Anne Davis to explore how ninth graders can use blogging to improve their literacies.
The Secret Life of Bees
This
is a reader's guide created by American Literature students at
Hunterdon Central Regional High School. The purpose of the blog is to
provide an in-depth look at The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd,
and to create and encourage discussion about the book.
Grapes of Wrath Blog
High school students reflect on The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
A Duck With a Blog
Kindergarten-grade
2 students share their observations about a mother duck who has taken
up residence on the school playground. Winner of a 2006 Edublog Award.
Tips for Teachers
•eThemes' Journals and Blogs
Several resources for educators that want to create online journals or blogs.
•Blogger Tips and Tricks
Directions for changing code and removing the "next blog" button for students.
•Educational Wikis-Eduwiki
Examples and ideas for using wikis in schools.
•Educator Videos on Wikis
Videos from educators that are using wikis. Contains advice and ideas. (Log in required)
FREE - Federal Resources for Education Excellence, teaching and learning resources from Federal Agencies