To Wiki or Not to Wiki

I remember the days when you would have to tell students to be careful about what they read on Wikipedia because there was some very inaccurate inform on the site. But today with the thousands of entries and editors Wikipedia is more up to date and accurate than any printed encyclopedia could ever hope to be.

I've used wiki's off and on over the years and yes edited a few entries on Wikipedia over the years. However, I must admit until working on the unit I had moved away from wiki's and not given them much thought in a few years. It is time to give them a look again as I had forgotten how easy they can be to edit. Setting up a wiki would be a great way to get to students working collaboratively. Which by the is one of the ISTE stands and falls under too many different common core standards to even site all of them.

It was interesting adding to the class wiki. I did want to go and change some of the font sizes and colors that others had chosen. But that is the way it is with many collaborative works not everyone has the same likes. I do find it hard to read when font sizes and colors change.

I found PBWorks to be a very easy wiki platform to set up. While I have not used it with students yet, I do believe my middle school students would be able to navigate the platform comfortably.

For a demo wiki I set up a site listing possible concert pieces for my Middle School Bands Spring Concert along with Program Notes. From year to year, it becomes a challenge to remember what was played the year before and when was a favorite piece last played. A wiki would be a great place to keep a running list with program notes of works and years played.

Wiki Sample View

Above is a sample view of the Wilson Warrior Band Spring Concert Music Wiki. To see the entire page click on link.