EvaluationofEducationalWiki

EVALUATION of an EDUCATIONAL WIKI

http://delmarhistory8.wikispaces.com/

1. Who designed the wiki? Anthony Armstrong, 8th Grade History teacher at Del Mar Middle School, Tiburon, CA

2. Who is the wiki for? The wiki was created for an 8th grade US History class.

3. What is the purpose of the wiki? The wiki is for use in Armstrong’s class as a means of supplementing the in-class work of students and outlines numerous resources to be used during the school year.

4. What subject(s) is the wiki for? American history for 8th grade at a middle school in California

5. What are the main contents included?

The wiki links to many different pages of content including:
 * Trimester Table of Contents which breaks the course into three main topics with sub-topics listed beneath each. Each sub-topic is a click thru that leads students to specific wiki pages on the particular subject (i.e. Constitutional Convention). These pages include graphic organizers, videos, research notebook rubrics, secondary sources and state standards.
 * Link to a MAC OSX site where students can create their own blogs (looks like this is on the school’s server).
 * Portfolio page where students upload their assignments and final portfolio.
 * Quia Review pages that hold practice questions for test review.
 * Historical Fiction Character that focuses on nature of historical narrative with a breakdown of the writing process.
 * History chat room where the class can discuss subject.
 * Archive of material.
 * Presentations by the teacher from Slideshare.

6. How do the participants contribute to the wiki?

The students can participate many ways. They may:
 * Create blogs that discuss the course and their readings
 * Create and upload assignments and their portfolio
 * Enter the chat room and chat with the teacher and other students
 * Create their own presentations and share with the class

7. Do you think the wiki serves its purpose well or not? Explain.

I have to say that I was very impressed with this educational wiki. The teacher has truly thought through every aspect of the class, has created an online wiki that is filled with useful material and resources for students and that allows students to be fully engaged in the material. The amount of work that was put into this particular wiki is self-evident and showcases the educator’s concern for the student’s engagement in the class.

8. Report a thing or two you like and dislike about the wiki.

There is very little to dislike about this wiki; the only item that is missing is there is little background on the teacher which would have been helpful. On the “like” side, there is much to love – there is clearly outlined and easy to navigate resources, there are links to blogs, there is review material for tests, there is a page for student portfolios and there is a page that links to a chat room. This is an excellent example of a well conceived wiki.