Wikis in the classroom

     Until very recently, I too was unaware of the many possibilities of using Wikipedia in a classroom setting. Most of us agree that a group of people who come together and give input on one topic will learn more than one person alone. It is this collaborative process that Wikipedia promotes. In a classroom setting, using Wikipedia encourages cooperative learning among students.
     Due to its interactive structure, each student is given the opportunity to contribute information or other helpful features in a lesson competitive format. Teachers may know when their students due assigned tasks, but using Wikipedia in the classroom moves away from so many of the activities that seem to foster competition among students. Creating a Wiki page gives students a sense of accomplishment and pride, while allowing them to participate in authentic and realistic tasks. Currently I am teaching an Explorers unit in social studies. I thought it would be fantastic to have students create a Wiki for this unit. Groups of students could work together and independently to gather information they have collected from the unit, and essentially "teach" each other about the different explorers.



Samuel de Champlain on Wikipedia