What+can+you+do+with+a+wiki?

There have been a wide array of wiki uses by schools.
Here a few ideas: //(sorry you might need to scroll down as there are lots of ideas here)// Feel free to add to this list at any time


 * [|Ideas for SOSE]
 * [|Ideas for Maths]
 * [|Ideas for Science]
 * Ideas for younger students


 * Wiki ideas appropriate for most subjects and levels:**
 * Study guides made by student groups for themselves and peers: each group prepares the guide for one aspect of the unit or responsibility rotates: one unit guide per semester.
 * Vocabulary lists and examples of the words in use, contributed by students (ongoing throughout the year).
 * The wiki as the organizational and intellectual epicenter of your class - Wiki all assignments, projects, collaboration, rubrics, etc.
 * Products of research projects, especially collaborative group projects:, artistic movements, the electoral process, diseases and prevention, etc. Remember that the products do not have to be simply writing. They can include computer files, images, videos, etc. Creating an organizational structure for the content is an important part if the project.
 * An annotated collection of EXAMPLES from the non-school world for anything: supply/demand, capitalism, entrepreneurship, triangles, alliterations, vertebrates or invertebrates, etc. Include illustrations wherever possible.
 * What I Think Will Be on the Test wiki: a place to log review information for important concepts throughout the year, prior to taking the “high stakes” test, or final exam. Students add to it throughout the year and even from year to year.
 * An “everything I needed to know I learned in Ms.Teachername’s class” wiki where students add their own observations of ways the class knowledge has spilled over into the “real world.” For example, a student might write about actually using a simple algebraic equation to figure out dimensions for cutting timber or setting up an exhibition. A travelogue from a field trip or NON-field trip that the class would have liked to take as a culmination of a unit of study: Our (non) trip to the Capital and what we (wish) we saw.
 * Articles by students who miss school for family trips, written about their travels on the class wiki, relating what they see to concepts learned before they left: Remember: hotels usually have Internet access. Make the world a part of your classroom!
 * An FAQ (or NSFAQ- Not So Frequently Asked Questions) wiki on your current unit topic. Have students post KWL entries and continue adding questions that occur to them as the unit progresses. As other students add their “answers,” the wiki will evolve into a student-created guide to the topic. You may find that the FAQ process can entirely supplant traditional classroom activities, especially if you seed a few questions as the teacher. This would also depend on whether you have consistent computer access on a daily basis.

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 * Wiki ideas for SOSE:**
 * A mock-debate between candidates, in wiki form (composed entirely based on research students have done on the candidate positions).
 * A collaborative project with students in another location or all over the world: A day in the life of an American/Japanese/French/Brazilian/Mexican family. (This one would require finding contacts in other locations, of course).
 * Detailed and illustrated descriptions of governmental processes: how a bill becomes a law, etc.
 * A virtual tour of your school as you study “our community”.
 * A local history wiki, documenting historical buildings, events, and people within your community. Include interviews with those who can tell about events from the World War II era or the bushfires of the 30's, etc. Allow adult community members to add their input by signing up for “membership” in the wiki. This project could continue on for years and actually be a service to the community. Perhaps the area historical society would provide some assistance, if you can get them to think beyond the closed stacks of their protected collections!
 * A travel brochure wiki: use wikis to “advertise” for different literary, historical, or cultural locations and time periods

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 * Wiki ideas for maths:**
 * A calculus wiki for those wicked-long problems so the class can collaborate on how to solve them (a “wicked wiki”?)
 * A geometry wiki for students to share and rewrite proofs (a geometwiki?). What a great way to see the different approaches to the same problem!
 * Applied math wiki: students write about and illustrate places where they actually used math to solve a problem.
 * Procedures wiki: groups explain the steps to a mathematical procedure, such as factoring a polynomial or converting a decimal to a fraction.
 * Pure numbers wiki: student illustrate numbers in as many ways possible: as graphics to count, as mathematical expressions, etc. Students can show graphic illustrations of multiplication facts, for example.

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 * Wiki ideas for science:**
 * A student- made glossary of scientific terms with illustrations and definitions added by the class (using original digital photos or those from other online Creative Commons sources, such as Flickr). Linking to separate pages with detailed information would allow the main glossary list to remain reasonably short.
 * A taxonomy of living things with information about each branch as you study Biology over a full year.
 * Designs of experiments (and resulting lab reports) for a chemistry class.
 * Observations from field sites, such as water-testing in local streams, weather observations from across your state, or bird counts during migratory season. Collaborate with other schools.
 * Detailed and illustrated descriptions of scientific processes: how mountains form, etc.
 * A physics wiki for those wicked-long problems so the class can collaborate on how to solve them (a “wicked wiki”?).

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 * Wiki ideas for younger students :**
 * An annotated virtual library: listings and commentary on independent reading students have done throughout the year
 * collaborative book reviews or author studies
 * An class “encyclopedia” on a special topic, such as explorers or state history – to be continued and added to each year!
 * A virtual tour of your school as you study “our community”.
 * A travelogue from a field trip or NON- field trip that the class would have liked to take as A culmination of a unit of study: Our (non) trip to the Capital and what we (wish) we saw.
 * Students share their family’s ways of special occasions or celebrating birthdays (anonymously, of course) and compare them to practices in other cultures they read and learn about.
 * A //Where is Wanda// wiki: a wiki version of the ever-favorite Flat Stanley project. Have each Wanda host post on the wiki, including the picture they take with Wanda during her visit. Even better: keep an ongoing Google Earth placemarker file to add geographic visuals to Wanda’s wonderful wanderings as a link in the wiki. WOW! Where in the world IS Wiki Wanda?

most of these ideas come from the [|Teachers First] web site

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