As I visited different wiki sites for this week’s assignment, I noticed that each site had its own organizational design. It seemed to me that this was mostly due to the age group contributing to the wiki and the nature of the project being completed. The Schools in the Past page was simply a list separated into categories such as playground, school rules, and library where students added what they discovered from talking to parents and grandparents. This is an easy way to get younger students (these students were first graders) to contribute to a wiki site. The Go West site which was created by third graders was much more complex. It contained multiple pages created by individual students and included charts, pictures, and other graphics. The entire page was focused on one unit from one subject area. High School students at Westwood Schools used their class wiki to post projects. Depending on the assignment, these projects included graphics and videos on various topics created by the students in their computer classes.
The variety of these sites showed me that there are many possibilities out there for using a wiki site with students and for professional development. In my chorus classes, I could see using this type of site to study a particular piece of choral repertoire. Students could share things like recordings of different choirs performing the piece, information on the composer, and musical elements found in the piece. My students and I could also use it for something as simple as sharing song or theme ideas for the next concert. As far as professional development this would be a great way to plan all-county music events or share lesson plans with the other choral and/or band and orchestra directors in the district.
Go West. Retrieved on January 29, 2014, from http://gowest.wikispaces.com/
Schools in the Past. Retrieved on January 29, 2014, from
http://schoolsthen.wikispaces.com/
Westwood Schools. Retrieved on January 29, 2014, from
http://westwood.wikispaces.com/
The variety of these sites showed me that there are many possibilities out there for using a wiki site with students and for professional development. In my chorus classes, I could see using this type of site to study a particular piece of choral repertoire. Students could share things like recordings of different choirs performing the piece, information on the composer, and musical elements found in the piece. My students and I could also use it for something as simple as sharing song or theme ideas for the next concert. As far as professional development this would be a great way to plan all-county music events or share lesson plans with the other choral and/or band and orchestra directors in the district.
Go West. Retrieved on January 29, 2014, from http://gowest.wikispaces.com/
Schools in the Past. Retrieved on January 29, 2014, from
http://schoolsthen.wikispaces.com/
Westwood Schools. Retrieved on January 29, 2014, from
http://westwood.wikispaces.com/