Using Wikis in the Classroom

When one thinks of Wikis the first thing that comes to mind is Wikipedia which can be considered a dirty word in the world of education.  Wikipedia has its uses but it typically found to be inaccurate due to the fact that anyone can edit a wiki.  However upon further exploration I found the concept of using wikis in the classroom much different from the concept of wikipedia. 

Using wikis to organize student teams and information is an effective strategy to incorporate technology into a regular classroom assignment.  It also helps facilitate team work and organization.  I found several articles in which teachers gave examples of using wikis in the classroom.   One specific article relates to using teh wiki to teach ELA.  The teacher Tim Fredrick's created a wiki around literature and used it as a source to teach his students about characterization, plot elements, and cause and effect.  The wiki itself can be found here Tim also has a blog and why it is older and not recently updated the content is still very interesting.

I also found a useful source on EducationWorld.com it is called Sites to See: Get Wild About Wikis!  There are several resources listed within the article and it is where I found Tim Fredricks' initial work.