Stretch on wikis (thing # 8)

I searched Ecuador on wikipedia. I lived there for a while and wanted to check out this entry.

I had never noticed the history page on wikipedia! It was quite lengthy and dealt with some typical issues. There was discussion about the Peruvian/Ecuadorian war. There were also some interesting comments about the role tourism plays in the Ecuadorian economy.

I actually thought the history page was more interesting than the entry itself. It highlighted some grey area issues whereas the entry defines everything simply in black and white.

As a side note, I know wikipedia is a fact of life for our students these days. However, I still discourage them from relying on it. I will not accept it as a legitimate source on any type of research.  I haven’t changed my opinion. I may have them search the history page on a controversial topic. That could stimulate an interesting class discussion.

Reflection on wikis (thing # 8)

Wikis were brand new to me. I didn’t even know wikipedia was a wiki! Sad. Thank goodness I found Welker’s Wikinomics. I’m teaching IB economics for the first time this January and I need HELP.  I found a great resource page that I know will be useful next semester.

Speaking of economics, I’ve started compiling some blogs on my reader that will be of use. I’ll need anything I can get!

I was duly impressed with the Flat Classroom Project! I love these kinds of projects because they can open the kids world in ways we couldn’t do otherwise. I taught overseas  and actually recognized a kid from my Ecuador days in the Dhaka picture! The teachers were kind enough to leave lesson plans on their wiki so I can use their model and adapt it for my class. Campbell already has a relationship with a school in Kenya.

Another wiki I checked out was fhswolvesden. Many of their links were dead or blank. I don’t think I would organize my wiki this way, but it was good to see what high school history teachers are doing.

Overall, I do think I could incorporate wikis quite easily into my class. I like the idea of online collaboration for things like test reviews or paper outlines. Coolio.

Happy Halloween everyone!