In our school's future, I see wikis being widely utilized as a tool owned and driven by student curiosity, passions, and contributions. If "everyone together is smarter than anyone alone" (Richardson, 2010, p. 57), then teachers need to stop being gatekeepers of wiki creations. Let kids collect, show off, and share their knowledge in the way sixth graders do in Code Blue. Is it perfect? Does the teacher in me want to pull out a red pen and make recommendations and corrections? I know you're nodding your head... But what matters is the process, the actual learning that takes place in that classroom. Locating, analyzing, and evaluating information for each doctor's page involves reading, comprehension, and writing skills, and they are taught in such a relevant and purposeful manner. Maybe Thousands Project seems to be a simple list of items, but I urge you to think about the lesson kids acquire: learning is a collaborative process, and it should not be contained by classroom walls. The entire world is our learning community. If third graders in Let's Go West are able collectively create a snapshot of US history, with links to additional resources and citations of images, then they will grow up to be valuable knowledge contributors of our society.
Wikis make learning stick. They are not just an online publishing place. They are a domain of learning where each student is a digital citizen who plays a valid role of a contributor. As Vicki Davis said, learning with wikis introduces students to their future. As an instructional technology coach, I plan to integrate wikis into the process of collaborative unit planning with teachers and support them in implementation of this tool in their instructional practices.
References
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. California: Corwin A SAGE Company.