Wiki Wiki Wonderful five times fast!!!!

This week a group of online classmates and myself created a wiki.  A whata??  A wiki is an online collaborative site.  We were able to create a site that housed all the wonderful blog resources we have found so far.  I am hoping that our group continues to add to the wiki and really utilizes it as a place to share valuable resources.  Here is our wiki website: technologyandteachersoutofthewoods.pbworks.com/ Try it out!

Our posting for the week was a reflection of the wiki process and how we might use a wiki in the future.  The following is my reflection to the wiki we created.

In creating the wiki this week, there were some high and low moments in the process.  It was frustrating working with a group of such different backgrounds, and needs.  When starting the process I was unsure of how our wiki should develop and to what purpose it would eventually serve.  I find that I need to have lots of clarification about the end result. 

The low points were the frustrations with communication.  I was unsure of the result and so I was frustrated with exactly how to proceed.  My group members were fabulous in communicating all the steps and changing things to help improve our wiki.  It would have helped if we had a chance to get to know each other better before working on a team project.  I tend to be very concerned with people’s feelings, I really did not want to step on any toes, and so I was more hesitant to do too much on the wiki.  I would have liked to know my classmates better so that we were all confident in changing things if needed, recommending different directions, or getting feedback that was helpful.

The high points in creating the wiki, was my group members.   We all did our piece of the project to make it a great resource.  Everyone was able to contribute with his or her talents to improve the wiki.  I also really appreciated the simplicity approach we all seemed to have.

With my students, identifying the final outcome of the project would be the most beneficial.  I like how the wiki shows all the changes each person makes.  Giving students a complete structure and ideas for each step of the way would help my students.  I would also have a rubric to identify the different components necessary and a chance for students to identify each role that they will take in the wiki.  At this time, I do not know if I will use a wiki in the classroom.  It would be more beneficial as a staff resource.  I have used a wiki in collaborating a training that a group of staff members attended.  It was very helpful to have a place to put our information and the different steps we were going to take to implement the information within our building.  It would also be very helpful to have a school wiki where staff could find documents, calendars, and another way to voice opinions about the information at the school.