Thing 7

Let me first say that I just love those CommonCraft videos. Never thought just "the hands" could convey information in such an interesting way!

After looking at some wikis from the suggested list, the one that impacted me most was Kubler Reading at http://kublerreading.wikispaces.com/. I think the organization is super. The creation of this wiki seems to have been very well thought through. It is developed to really make the students think and inspires them to read for comprehension. Students have been given clearly designed roles (word wizard, creative connector, etc.) and each chapter of a book has been pulled out for its own special treatment. I don't see how the organization could be any better, really. The only missing piece that I see is that the writer of each blog entry does not introduce him/herself. I think this should be done consistently.

I like this blog so much that I could see myself actually using this same application in the media center.

The Grazing for Digital Natives wiki - http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/ - is introduced with an animated character called a voki. The wiki user uses this voki to tell a bit about herself and the wiki. I think this is a nice approach because it is different. However, the voki's lip movements not being in sync with the words, was a bit distracting for me. This wiki effectively uses a Table of Contents to organize the material presented. Each chapter is a link on the page.

The author goes to great lengths to tell about herself. Perhaps she wants to establish her credibility. After reading her vitae, I did have a sense that I was reading the material of a person with experience and expertise, but I have mixed feelings about including one's vitae within the wiki. Perhaps that is going too far? I don't know. It seems that maybe the content itself should establish credibility for the author.

The Schools in the Past wiki - http://schoolsthen.wikispaces.com/ - tells readers up front how to participate in the wiki. I think this is nice. These clearly written instructions might help increase the number of people who will actually contribute to the wiki. It is really cool how another teacher has contributed to the wiki to enhance the learning. She tells the students of the wiki page, "I'm giving you the link because there are links, information websites, pictures, and everything you guys may need to know about schools in the past. In my wiki, you would get the information in lesson 1, and . . ." This is a great example of how learning can grow and grow with the use of a wiki; here these students are benefitting from the resources and expertise of another teacher who they may not even know! The teacher is right on point when she provides a link to her wiki.

I really like this one. The division of the content into sections is very helpful and enhances the organization, e.g., Library, Rules, Playgrounds. This is much more effective than just lumping all of the interviewee responses together within the wiki.