Connections

• Build greater connections between new and old knowledge by allowing student-created structure for the information and ideas.
  
  
• Build on the best of Bloom: Students use synthesis and evaluation constantly and consistently when they work on a wiki.

Creativity

• Build creativity skills, especially elaboration and fluency. Build creative flexibility in accepting others’ edits!
• Encourage “hitch-hiking” on ideas (a type of creative elaboration and analytical thinking: If X is true, then what about Y?).
• Introduce and reinforce the idea that a creative piece as never “done.”

What benefits are there from student wiki participation?

Roll over the topics at the left to see some of the benefits from using wikis as a tool for teaching and learning. These ideas may be helpful in explaining your wiki to parents, students, and administrators.

I think I get it. I WANT TO WIKI! Just show me how to get started.

Engagement

• Increase engagement of all students.
• In lieu of being passive “consumers” of their peers’ presentations (where they doze, doze and ignore), wiki makers respond, respond, change, and improve.
• Culminating projects no longer have to end!!

Interpersonal

• Develop interpersonal and communication skills, especially consensus-building and compromise, in an environment where the product motivates interpersonal problem-solving.
• Develop true teamwork skills

Writing

• Improve the most challenging phase of writing process: revision, revision, revision!
• Increase flexibility to consider other ways of saying things.
• Build an awareness of a wider, more authentic audience.

Metacognition

• Stimulate discussion and metacognition (where developmentally ready).
• Help students articulate issues about ownership, finding, different conceptualizations of the same content. These can be sophisticated challenges, even for the best students.