I don't get out that often, so the only wiki I have ever used or know about is Wikipedia. (You laugh now) i always use Wikipedia when I'm looking for random facts. It usually has the information I need. Again, some of this stuff is new to me, since I teach PE and would probably never think about using a wiki in my subject area. I also didn't know that anyone could add information to the Wikipedia. That just seems unreal to me. But after our conversation in class, I know they have a team who works 24/7 making sure all entries are valid, which again is unbelievable! Now that I know more about Wiki's, I think they are great for group projects! Students can add and change things whenever they come up with more or have new ideas. Students could use them to create study guides for the end of a unit.
By the way, did you hear that Encyclopedia Britannica will stop being printed? Again, jaw dropping information to me! I can't believe I am now old enough to say a statement like this - "When I was your age, we didn't have the internet. I had to find all of my information for papers and projects in a Library or at home in my encyclopedia set." I just can't believe my son won't have a set! His will probably be on a newer version of a Kindle by the time he's in elementary school.
So, does anyone else feel old now?
Absolutely feeling old over here. The sad thing is, most children probably have no idea why Wikipedia is called that. They don't get the reference to Encyclopedia at all. There are so many things that the next generation will be so clueless about. I think we need to make a wiki just about all those things they won't know about. Like if someone says "Record of the Year" or "scratch a record", they have no idea what a record is. There are so many things like this! Though I'm sure a quick google search will find a website that does exactly what I am suggesting....Yup, here's one article about it (just ignore the bad language, sorry!) http://www.cracked.com/article_19109_6-things-our-kids-just-plain-wont-get.html
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