Wikis for Formative Assessment S. Woo  11/04/08

What is a Wiki?
A web site that anyone can edit at any time.
(definition from Webopedia, found at http://muhsworkshop.wikispaces.com/)
Useful definitions
Examples of educational wikis

Most well-known:
Wikipedia – online collaborative encyclopedia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY
Shows students and teachers how to edit/start a simple wiki

Examples – from the simple to the complex
http://richmondbookreviews.pbwiki.com
For Meg White’s classes; parents/grandparents could view

http://hrwishlist.pbwiki.com
For book donations last year

http://hrmsrecipes.pbwiki.com
Wiki for sharing recipes

http://mediatalks.pbwiki.com/
Students answer her first question, then comment on each other’s posts; simple wiki

http://vmsjournalism.wikispaces.com/
Wikispaces: free for educators; they will set up passwords and user names for you, so kids don’t have to email.
Used for several stages involved in creating a newspaper.
Editing initial paragraphs containing mistakes; students research, conduct interviews, take pictures for their own articles; different students edit articles; 2 drafts and then final copy; layout editors copy and paste final drafts for newspaper.

http://bensonlibrary.pbwiki.com/Dewey+Decimal+System+Project
Students create pages based on knowledge gained about the Dewey Decimal System; Vokis, Wordles, and written paragraph.

http://8redbridges2008.wikispaces.com/

Value of Wikis in formative assessment:

• Tool that enables teacher and students to monitor understanding on an ongoing basis
• Opportunity for frequent, targeted feedback
• Peer editing; visible in “history” tab

6th grade: planets

• each group of 3 is assigned a planet
• essential question: “What would enable you to live on your planet?”
• group posts, edits, adds to information each week
• teacher could provide focus questions, all of which need to be answered; or students could come up with focus questions
• most could be done as homework; possibly the final product in class

7th grade: human body

• each group is assigned a system
• essential question: “What would happen if the body had to do without me?”
• group posts, edits, adds information each week
• answers own focus questions or the teacher’s
• most could be done as homework; possibly the final product in class8th grade: elements

• each group or student is assigned an element or group of elements
• essential question: “What makes us/me unique?”
• group posts, edits, adds information each week
• answers own focus questions or the teacher’s
• most could be done as homework; possibly the final product in class

Other potential applications:

• group generated lists of pros and cons
• group generated descriptions of sources in a research project
• group generated lab reports – scientific method

Sources:

http://www.wikispaces.com/help+Teachers
http://www.wikisym.org/ws2008/index.php/Wiki-based_Collaborative_Learning:_Incorporating_Self-Assessment_Taskshttp://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=5B27511594652DD8865A95897AFDF747?contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkpdf&contentId=1464584Curick Marija. Using Wikis for Formative and Summative Assessment. 2007.