Wiki's are described as being an appealing and fun way to engage students in learning activities. They are considered ideal because they encourage student participation, collaboration and interaction, after viewing the 21st Century Learning video I would have to strongly agree with that description.
Some important aspects to think about in terms of 21st Century Learning using wiki's include:
Educational Benefits
- promotes learning through collaborative authoring
- higher level thinking skills are developed through critiquing other students work
- investigative skills are further developed when work is critiqued and additional research is required
- encourages creativity
- develops teamwork and conflict management skills
- class communities are built through collaborative learning
Classroom uses:
- group projects
- collaborative textbooks
- assignments
- collective writing,
- research projects,
- data collection,
- organization of projects
Challenges
- know and follow school policies and procedures
- use a psuedonym
- obtain parental permission
- appropiateness of materials
Swot Analysis of a Weebly
The features of the weebly website seem similar to googlesite and it's editing features are more refined than blogspot
Strengths:
- directions are clear and simple to follow for setting up the website
- basic technical knowledge
- easy drag and drop features
- pages can be easily organised
- customising and adding content is done by double-clicking and dragging.
Weaknesses:
- haven’t come up with any yet
Opportunities:
- creative learning resource for teachers and students
- reflective learning tool
- evaluation tool
Threats
- safety and security of personal information
- appropriate material content
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Change_Issues_in_Curriculum_and_Instruction/Wikis_in_the_Classroom
