Wikis In Classrooms

Why are wikis perfect for classroom use?

Vicki A Davis, a classroom teacher, presented at this year's ACTEM conference. Her presentation on wiki spaces was inspirational.

Vicki reminded us of several important 21st century skills students need to develop. Maine has recently agreed to participate in the 21st Century Skills Partnership:

State Becomes Sixth to Join the National Partnership for 21st Century SkillsPORTLAND, MAINE – July 30, 2007 – The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the nation’s leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st century skills into education, today announced a joint partnership with the state of Maine to bring globally competitive 21st century teaching and learning skills to its schools, educators and students.

Vicki presented a short slideshow explaining how these 21st century skills are used by students when they work with wikis.

ISTE, the group that developed the NETS-Students that we discussed and shared on NETS-S Voice, has published an interview with Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay about their work on the award-winning "Flat Classroom Project".

Thomas L. Friedman, author of "The World is Flat," was so impressed with the work Vicki's Georgia-based students and Julie's Dhaka-based students were able to do, he has asked Vicki and Julie to work on a new chapter for the the newest edition of "The World is Flat."

How can we use them in our teaching and learning?

• Sharing more information about our Service-Learning Projects
• To encourage civic engagement through data collection and discussion with projects such as NetDay Speak Up
• Use PBWiki templates to create Project pages for communication and coordination
• Use PBWiki for science labs to allow each student to participate in the planning, data collection, data analysis, formulating conclusions, sharing interpretations and getting feedback.