Here’s a pretty interesting article about using wikis as a learning tool. I like the icebreaker exercise that the authors use to get students familiar with the technology, and I think it can serve as a good model for the ways to introduce much of these new tools. The best way to really understand the power of personal publishing is to, well, publish personally, put yourself out there, talk about who you are and what you want from life.
And while we’re on the subject, I found another wiki-type site today at Planetmath.org where hundreds (thousands?) of left-brain types are building a site full of math resources.
PlanetMath is a virtual community which aims to help make mathematical knowledge more accessible. PlanetMath’s content is created collaboratively: the main feature is the mathematics encyclopedia with entries written and reviewed by members. The entries are contributed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (FDL) in order to preserve the rights of both the authors and readers in a sensible way.
I sent out an e-mail to my math department with the link and hopefully planting the idea that we could do the same here. I’m scheduled to meet with the Media Lit teacher tomorrow and start the wiki project in that class next week. Maybe the meme will spread…
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