Inspired by an excellent technology course I took fall semester 2006 at Simmons, I began speaking to teachers about the possibility of using a wiki as a way of publishing student work for a wide audience. The result? A Boston Ecosystems Wiki.
Teaching Teachers:
An enthusiastic science teacher from the Amigos school asked me to present information about wikis to the middle school cluster of teachers. I created a teacher-library wiki using wikispaces software as way to introduce teachers to the technology and give them a hands-on opportunity to use and contribute to a wiki before thinking of ways they might be able to use them with students.
Powerpoint I used to introduce teachers to our new wiki:
Jumping In:
Laurie was eager to have her students create a wiki in order to publish the work they’d done earlier in the year researching ecosystems in and around Boston. After a series of field trips, students compiled information about their ecosystems and wrote papers with charts and visuals to support their findings. Laurie and I agreed that the wiki would be an ideal way to integrate the photos students had taken on their field trips with the written work they’d done in English and Spanish, describing what they’d learned. I created the wiki the same day Laurie requested we start the project, and we presented it to students the following day.
Students learn the What, Why & How of Wikis:
Two groups of sixth grade Amigos students didn’t need much coaxing to see the exciting potential of using the Boston Ecosystems Wiki to publish their work. After an introductory lesson, students created user accounts and became members of our password-protected space. The wiki can be seen by anyone with Internet access, but only members of the wiki create and edit content. Students experimented with writing and formatting text during our first class, which was just the beginning.
Students learned about wikis from this presentation:
Students worked hard to learn the ins and outs of formatting text in wikispaces, adding photographs and flow charts to supplement their articles. They found appropriate websites to extend the information they provided and hyperlinked text in order to direct readers to further resources. They persevered in spite of minor frustrations and became proficient in using the technology to publish their work.
From “Me” to “We”
After students mastered the skills of writing and editing content, they worked in groups to compile the information they’d gathered about each ecosystem and collaboratively wrote and published a single page about each ecosystem. The process helped students develop editing and synthesis skills while encouraging conversation and cooperation in pursuit of a common learning goal.
English Language Learners Contribute Equally
Students who are Limited English Proficient were able to contribute as much as their English-proficient peers. Several of the Spanish articles proved longer and more detailed than the English articles, and conveyed students’ depth of understanding and appreciation for their topic of study. The opportunity to engage with their topic and communicate their knowledge as an expert in what may be a new community to some of our immigrant students is something that defies conventional assessment, but the positive results for student confidence and skill levels were obvious to us as educators.
The bilingual nature of our wiki also benefits Spanish-speaking readers, extending the reach of the information students have gathered and communicated. The application of language skills to teach content to others helps students realize the value of their bilingualism and gives them a sense of pride and purpose in continued language studies.
Just the Beginning
One of the exciting things about wiki technology is the interminable nature of wiki projects. Laurie will use this year’s wiki to help next year’s students learn and build upon the knowledge already conveyed in the pages of the wiki. She could have students edit previous articles, add more detailed information to already existing articles, or create another related science wiki of their very own. The possibilities are as limitless as the imagination of students and teachers.
Reading, Writing & Wikis
After the initial excitement of using wiki technology waned, students realized how much hard work would have to go into the projects in order to result in a final product they, their teacher, and their world-wide audience would appreciate. Students generally edited on paper first and then made changes in the wiki. Students and I used the discussion tabs in the wiki to respond to student work and make suggestions for changes and additions. Hectic schedules didn’t interfere with progress made because of our ability to work together online when it wasn’t possible to meet in person. Students became better readers, writers and editors as a result of the project; and gained valuable technology know-how as our school’s technology-trail-blazing “wiki pioneers.”
