Using Wikis to Foster 21 st Century Thinking

1. Using Wikis to Foster 21st Century Thinking By Frank LiCausi

2. Enrichment Teacher • School wide themes and projects • Whole class enrichment • Gifted and talented pullout • Interest and skill based pullout

3. What is a Wiki? • Anyone can read and use the website • Members can add or change the content Popular Wikis • Wikipedia- a wiki that uses communal knowledge to create an encylopedia • Wikihow- a wiki that uses communal knowledge to answer sought after questions • Wikileaks- a wiki that uses communal knowledge to publish, discuss and evaluate information leaked into the community

4. Why Use A Wiki? • Can provide a specific portal to the internet resources you want students to use • Gives student ownership of their own thinking and creativity • Exposure and links to technology and technological tools • Students can access from any computer- at school and at home • Any members (parents, teachers and students ) can participate • And most importantly…students find it engaging

5. Creativity and Innovation • Embedding widgets allows students to publish their own creative work and their creative use of technological tools • Creating their own wiki pages allows them to develop ‘wiki’ skills • Students often create their own wikis based on their own interests and needs

6. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving • Inquiry • Scientific inquiry, self-directed questions • ‘Questions of the Week’ • Literature Discussion Groups • Students can have permanent, visible discussions on reading • Math Problem Solving • Students publish solutions to math problems • Published problems allows students to see how others think and recognize that there may be more than one way to solve a problem

7. Communication and Collaboration • Using the Wiki fosters communication with parents, other classes, each other • Using discussion groups allows students to communicate with each other on topics • Using wiki pages allows students to collaborate on projects • Embedding polls allow students to express their opinions

8. Information LiteracyMedia LiteracyICT Literacy • Wikis act as a great portal for developing literacy skills • Wikis act as a great publishing tool for developing technological skills

9. Flexibility and Adaptability Initiative and Self -Direction • Discussion groups allow kids to see what others are thinking and think flexibly about their own views. • Dynamic nature of wiki allows students to change their thinking and their work • Students can work on projects on their own in their own classrooms, in different classrooms, at home • Students can use the wiki as a portal to independently practice skills or pursue outside interests.

10. Social and Cross Cultural Skills Productivity and Accountabliity The wiki provides a record of who did what when. Kids are held accountable for what they have completed and the quality of their work. Feedback can be given back to the students • Discussion groups allow students to learn the skill of respectfully understanding, disagreeing and responding to different views. • Wikis can act as a portal to culturally diverse and culturally informative resources

11. Wikispaces vs. PbWorks

12. Additional Resources • “Partnership for 21st Century Learning”- www.p21.org • Curriculum 21- Essential Education for a Changing World edited by Heidi Hayes Jacobs • www.hhe.wiksipaces.com • www.hhes.pbworks.com • www.heritageheights.wikispaces.com • www.delicious.com/licausi