Wikis+in+Education

Wikis and documentation have been discussed in regards to help documents, community forums, news rooms and technical writing. Another example of wikis and documentation is in education.

As outlined by Lisa Nielsen in a [|TechLearning.com blog post], educators are finding more and more ways to use wikis to their advantage to become more efficient each and every day. Listed below are some of the ways some schools are using wikis, highlighted by Nielsen. (Categories by Nielsen, information paraphrased by me).


 * Decrease disruptions of instructional time**
 * Each morning teachers are given their daily notes posted onto the school's wiki. The notes include school-wide announcements, teacher absences, policy changes, department reminders, etc. They can also find their class and meeting schedules here. It is a one-stop place for teacher's to find all of the information they need, leaving plenty of time for students in the classroom. All the teachers must do to verify they have read the daily notes is to digitally sign a document with their initials.


 * Make meetings more efficient**
 * Meeting schedules, agendas and notes can all be kept on the wiki. Any documents handed out at the meeting can be posted for viewing, as well as a discussion board if further chatter is warranted after the meeting takes place. Materials can be posted ahead of time so that teachers are prepared when coming to the meeting.


 * Save trees, save money**
 * Schools use enough paper as it is, with all of the tests, notes and worksheets that get passed around. Using a wiki to send out memos, documents and other communications is a great way to save paper and help the environment. If something is lost, you don't have to worry about reprinting. It can just be found right on the wiki. This also helps with the budget, as schools can cut out a large amount of paper expense.

To read more from Nielsen's blog post, go [|here].

Source: http://www.techlearning.com/article/eight-ways-to-use-school-wikis/46216