Emily Gephart

Wikis in my classroom
I want to teach kindergarten to third grade. With Wiki, I think this would be best
used in classes with older students. While this is a great idea and offers great
opportunities for students to interact with each other online outside of the school, younger
grades such as kindergarten or first may have a harder time learning with this system.
One way I could use wiki in my classroom with younger students is posting things we are
working on, on the website. Doing this, parents could have access at home to see what
their children are learning about, and even help them with homework in the ways we are
learning in class. I also plan to post websites with videos of educational songs, links that
allow parents to access help for their children if they are struggling in class. Using wiki
this way can allow parents to be more involved in their childrens learning. They will be
able to interact with their kids, and me to know all that is going on in our classroom.
If I were to teach second or third grade I think I would use wiki much like the
women in the video. This will give students a chance to interact with each other online,
and feel more comfortable about sharing their comments for discussion. With second and
third grade the students may not use it as advanced as the students in the video, but
students can use it to access information for assignments.
With second and third, I still plan to use wiki to allow parents to access what their
children are learning in class. This way parents can stay informed and have complete
access to what is going on in the classroom. Allowing parents access to what is going on
in the classroom, will allow parents to speak to their kids about their learning, and help

them if they need with. Children often do not relay information to their parents, and this
will give parents a chance to know what is going on.
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