Wikis really seem to be a fabulous tool for having an electronic conversation. I could see this being used in a math problem-solving situation with small groups. Students could create a problem solving situation, then trade their wiki problem with another group, who could show their solution on the wiki. Another trade could add in an critique piece so that another group could critique both the problem that was created and the solution. Another possibility would be to have students create their own questions to a problem-solving situation given in a wiki. The possibilities are truly endless. Any real collaborative situation among students could easily take place through a wiki.
By the same token, using a wiki among teachers could be extremely powerful, and streamline the massive strings of e-mails that often seem to occur throughout the school year.
My one question is about the security of wikis. It seems that a great deal of care would have to be taken to protect students' identities. Is there any way to limit who can edit a wiki, or would something with sensitive information be best shared through Google Docs?
As I understand it, you can set your Wiki to a "Protected" level where only members (that you have approved) can edit the content. It's still a good practice to have students just use their first names or pseudonyms in the Wiki to protect their identity.
ReplyDeleteMillie