Wikis

I've always been able to fly under the radar, so I wonder how I would do in Survivor.... But I'm really talking about starting up a wiki for my department because I was tired of waiting around for a website to be built for the department. I knew that none of the big bosses would have any clue about the wikis, so I just decided to build one and invited everyone to join. Even though I invited everyone in the department to join, I also knew that only the tech savvy ones would dare to click on the link that would take them to the blog. And I'm glad that they did!

We use this wiki to share information among the different instructors at different locations. We teach at different times and we only get to see each other at professional development workshops three times a year. That's not enough time to share ideas and resources with my colleagues! The wiki allows us to have discussions --- why are students dropping out of our classes? what are some ideas for keeping them engaged? what's a great way to teach fractions? who is having problems with reading comprehension? The wiki also lets us post cool websites, personal teaching documents, and my favorite YouTube videos.

I'm still disappointed that only 4 or 5 instructors are actively using the wiki. I'm getting a little tired of talking to the same people. JK. I probably need to work on cleaning it up so it's a little more user friendly. I've learned a few new things in this cool class I'm taking, so now it's time to apply my new found knowledge.

I also like the idea of the wiki being used in lieu of a website. I'm so tired of having to get every flyer and piece of paper approved. So far, the approvers don't even know that instructors are using the world wide web to get out information. It is still unofficial, so it's all good.

I'm going to be starting a new wiki soon. I'm working out the details so that it will be PERFECT. If I build it, I hope they all come!