Building a Digital Village

Wiki’s are amazing and a wonderful addition as a teaching and learning resource in education. However, I believe a wiki-wiki is a personal venture into a specific online learning environment, one that you must be personally committed to in your quest for learning. If you are not connected to the mission and goals of a particular wiki, then I do not believe you will gain insight and knowledge from your visit. With that said, I believe it is imperative to engage students into the learning goals of a particular wiki and its intent to expand on classroom initiatives through online collaboration, writing and communication. I find it hard to assess and engage in wikis that I have not been involved in from the start. To me, visiting an existing wiki is like entering a class mid-semester.

However, if used as a resource with all students engaged in its development from birth, a wiki can become a powerful, sustaining resource for the content and knowledge being shared and expanded on in a particular educational learning initiative.

I have attempted the use of a wiki (Wayland Technology) for Professional Development resources in Wayland Public Schools: . However, because staff has not been involved personally from a course, I do not feel the engagement is at a level that is sustaining and productive.  Perhaps you can provide me with some insight into how I can further engage staff in the content and development of this professional development wiki. Or, perhaps that is not possible, as looking in from the outside is not necessarily a positive experience. Perhaps the best way to engage staff is to use this as a tool to support a Web 2.0 professional development classroom initiative. These are my thoughts and assessments of wikis. Make it QUICK, but make it meaningful and productive for the participant.