Week 2 Readings - revised

The readings this week did make me think more about trying to incorporate wikis into my classes.  I thought the components of an effective wiki given by Vicki Davis were very good.  I think these would be a great introduction to wikis for students.  They were given in a very specific way that students should find easy to follow and give them some direction in starting their wiki experience. 

One way I could incorporate using wikis in class would be have a wiki as an option of presentation of a group report.  In Accounting 2 students research and present information on a current accounting topic that we do not specifically cover in class.  Using a wiki could be a way for group to work together to present the information to the whole class.  This project adds to the content for my advanced accounting students to prepare them for the college accounting programs.  To assess the effectiveness of using the wiki, students are always held accountable for information from each of the topics presented.  Whether the information is presented in text, graphics, audio or video, students should be able to learn about the various topics by viewing the wikis of their classmates.

Some of the information in the text seemed a little dated because technology is changing so quickly.  I also had to review the assignments listed in a different way.  They were directed to the elementary age class so I had to think of how I would adjust them to a high school setting.  An example would be the lesson given of writing a story in PowerPoint.  The lesson was for Grades 1-3 and very basic - appropriate for that age group.  The stories I have assigned for my students include animated graphics, they run continuously and are narrated.  I guess with all of the information we read about and study in this program will have to be fine tuned to fit within our age level and various curriculums but at least we are encouraged to look ahead and see how we can continue to grow as educators.