I’ve just finished creating a new wiki, this time for my Year 9 class, and this time it is one that I am actually going to use!
I’ve created two other wikis before – one for my HSC class, which I made using wikispaces. My Year 12s were struggling with the blog as it was, so the wiki never really got a start there. The other wiki I made was a general purpose one, which I imagined all of my classes would contribute to, on every subject that they studied. This way all of my classes, from years 7-12, over time would come to access this kind of mega-source of information. What a plan! What a community! But I decided not to run with the idea, because I don’t think the students really will go for the idea…I’m not convinced it’ll be so much fun adding to the site unless you really know the others that are making it too.
I’ve added a couple of YouTube videos on using PB wiki to my vodpod (click here or in the right-hand side bar). Anyone else out there using a wiki ATM? What is (not) working for you?
Kelli McGraw 
#1 by Emma Le M on July 24, 2008 - 9:14 pm
Actually, i’ve just started a wiki with my year 11s. i have a blog with my year 12s, but i love the sense of structure and organisation that a wiki offers.
i also have plans to set one up for the whole year once the hsc course starts, just for assessment. i have just started voicethreading revision and assessment outlines so will post those along with tasks, samples etc.
i tried wikidot, but have ended up with wikispace because i love how easy it is; this allows me to look knowledgeable without really doing anything!
#2 by Julie Bain on July 25, 2008 - 12:25 pm
I’ve used wikis with senior English students for revision purposes over the last couple of years and that’s proved quite successful.
I’ve also help other teachers create wikis for their classrooms (e.g. Year 10 PDHPE) and they have proved to be successful but a limited way. Most notably if there are problems with the technology – like a help desk.
atm our IT guy is using a wiki in his Year 11 class but many of the students are not participating as well as he was expecting. His class, he feels, needs very set tasks, embedded within the wiki to ensure kids stay on task and have goals that they can meet in both class and at home.
#3 by kellimcgraw on July 28, 2008 - 12:37 am
That sounds great Emma – do you mean you would use a wiki with HSC students so they could study FOR assessment, or that they would actually be assessed on their contribution to the wiki? Is there a way you can do that?
#4 by kellimcgraw on July 28, 2008 - 12:39 am
Julie that is a great point – sometimes it is easy to believe that if you just ask students to add to a wiki then it will happen, but as with any other class task, some students need very specific instructions, and a lot of task scaffolding!