Evaluation+of+an+Educational+Wiki

Title: Evaluation of an Educational Wiki The name of the wiki that I have chosen to evaluate is from the suggested list of “Wikis in Education” called “Littlewood’s Nature Guide.” 1. Who designed the wiki? The wiki was designed by a 5th grade teacher, Ms. Birdsey, and her assistant, Ms Doherty, at Littlewood's Elementary School in Florida. 2. Who is the wiki for? The wiki is for the students at the school, and there is a section dedicated to the parents/caregivers. 3. What is the purpose of the wiki? The purpose of the wiki is to provide photos and descriptions of plants and animals found in the environment surrounding the school. The instructor wants the students to discover the relationship between plants, animals, and their environment. 4. What subject is the wiki for? The 5th graders are being introduced to the ecosystem in their Science class. 5. What are the main contents included? The main contents are photos and reference material including common names, proper names, descriptions, and resources used in identifying all the plants and animals on the website. 6. How do the participants contribute to the wiki? The teacher has included a screencast that gives instructions on signing on through Firefox as internet browser onto Wetpaint to access the website. User names are either “AM Block Student” or PM Block Student” which represent morning or afternoon students. Another screencast gives detailed instructions on how students could create a species profile of plants and animals. It tells them how to find the toolbox to add a plant or animal via the template. Information is also provided for editing information on a plant or animal that was created by someone else. In the reference section, the instructor is specific about telling the students to provide references for any thread created on the website to validate information. She also provides them with a list of websites that could be used as references. There is a page dedicated to parents or caregivers that addresses concerns that they might have with their kids using the internet. 7. Do you think the wiki serves its purpose well or not? I feel that the wiki does serve its purpose well. From the discussions of the 40 threads that I read, the kids seem to enjoy taking pictures of plants and animals in their environment. By documenting resources of common names, proper names, and descriptions of the species, the students obtained researching skills in addition to learning about plants and animals in their environment. 8. Report a thing or two you like and dislike about the wiki. I like the internet safety rules page that specifically outlines the dos and don’ts of internet usage. I also like the fact that parents can sign on at anytime and see what their kids are doing. I dislike the fact that instead of adding her own screencast of instructions for her 5th graders to add a video to the website, the instructor created a link to the Wetpaint Central Video Gallery. The instructions at this link are on a level above a 5th grader’s comprehension. I have the same concern about adding news feeds to the website. I feel that the instructor should create a screencast similar to the ones for signing on and creating a thread to add a species. The Wetpaint Central Links do provide instructions; however, they can be a bit complicated for a 5th grade student.