Journal+Entry+-+April+27

=__** Wikis in Education **__= Wikis is an online tool that can provide educators with a location of organizing a large amount of information. Teachers could use Wikis to collaborate with other teachers about projects with their students. For instance, an English teacher may work with her class to create resumes and references while a lab teacher may work with their class on preparing for job shadowing experiences and interviews. Importantly, wikis can be set-up so that others (like parents) can have access to what is going on in the classroom.

=__** Using a Wiki in Language Arts **__= In the language arts classroom, wikis could be beneficial for many things. A link could be inserted into the wiki that provides journal prompts for the students to chose from. After a student chooses their prompt, they can then type their journal response into the wiki. Collaborative research projects could be done using a wiki which would allow for peer editing and discussions. The teacher could provide a list of book choices and students could discuss which book would be the best for the class to read. Online discussions and assignments could be done using the wiki.

=__ Ways to Use a Wiki in a Classroom __= There are many options to what a teacher could do with a wiki. Students could create portfolios that would include their assignments and daily writings. The portfolios could be used at the parent and teacher conferences so parents would have an actual artifact to view rather than a sheet of paper with a course grade. Newsletters could be included on the wiki as a way to keep parents informed about students are working on in the classroom.

= =