Thing 17

Since my husband and I are taking "23 Things" together and we work in the same school, we created a Wiki together. We called it monroehighschool. Maybe this will be too much "togetherness." We'll see.

The thought behind this was that we could use this Wiki as a communication method with MHS students. It could be a way to let kids know what is going on at school. We thought we could have a general MHS page and create a page for each class. It would be a way for students to see what's going on in school and also be able to make comments. We would have to screen comments to make sure they are school appropriate. Monroe High School is so big that it's hard to get the word out about what we offer. And because of the size it's hard to know students' opinions. We thought it would be a way to tell about the serious stuff and the fun stuff that happens at our school.

This wiki is different than a blog because it is more collaborative. There isn't just one author who publishes information. There could be problems with students writing inappropriate things about other people or using inappropriate language but the Wiki can be set up to make sure that inappropriate comments aren't published. One problem we may have is that I believe Wikispaces are blocked by our Tech department and would not be available for students or teachers to use during school hours. Another problem would be the time it would take to manage the Wiki.

I think Wikis are a good tool for when students have to do group projects. Students can contribute to information and they don't even need to be in the same building. Again, there may be a problem at MHS with Wikis being blocked and that would mean students would have to access a Wiki at home or a public library.