Integrating the Use of Wiki Projects into the Classroom

It is fair to say that many approach the ability to share openly on the web with much hesitation. Once educated and armed with new knowledge a teacher is faced with some very serious issues as it relates to intial classroom use:
it leaves many to question what to do once I have finally made the intial step in embracing the use of wikis in the classroom. As it relates to the field of education Blooms' taxonomy serves as a map to accomplish the goal of allowing students to reach high order thinking. There are some prerequisites that are required before introducing a wiki to the class such as the ability to write and edit, process skills , self organization, openess and integrity. The teacher should then identify the purpose and the domain. After this is done the porject is ready to be kicked off, but not without a few roles and rules, as well as to determine how the students will be assessed. The assessment is usually done using a detailed rubric.

Reference:
West, J. & West, M. (2009). Using Wikis for Online Collaboration: The Power of the Read-Write Web. San Francisco, CA. John Wiley & Sons

Identifying Basic Pitfalls of Web 2.0

There are a few issues as it relates to the pitfalls of online collaborations and web 2.0, but the reality is that knowledge is power. The key to this is knowledge as a teacher it is important for you to know what you are doing prior to presenting or opening this superhighway of targeted information. I suggested that a teacher has to know his/her role, the days of old have almost faded away and know to run a successful classroom one has to be willing to be more democratic. One has to be confident enough in the knowledge of both oneself as well as the students to loosen the reigns of the traditional classroom. This superhighway is just that, it is a highway that could lead to many different tunnels to somewhere else; which could compromise the security of our digital environment. We can further protect ourselves from vandals and others by being willing to provide an invisible blankets by using passwords and filtering options that require prior approval before posting. I have identified four potential pitfalls or issues that could hinder the growth of a digital environment which is knowledge, freedom, power struggle, and security.

Reference:
West, J. & West, M. (2009). Using Wikis for Online Collaboration: The Power of the Read-Write Web. San Francisco, CA. John Wiley & Sons