The Resource Wiki

For educators the Resource Wiki allows a classroom to become a knowledge-building community. The goal is the creation of a collaborative knowledge base which gradually becomes a source of trusted information. It gathers student work for the use of later visitors.

Because a wiki records all additions and changes to its content it serves as a register of class activity. If the activity is extended beyond the single classroom instructors can continually push for the inclusion of fresh material. The classroom can be extended both horizontally and vertically: including other sections of a course or other schools and ranging across cohorts.

Many resource wikis grow to address an audience beyond the classroom. This potential to reach the world at large can be a motivating factor for students. It should be noted, however, that harsh responses from the readership, if comments are allowed, can sometimes be derailing for students and this may necessitate some special support from the instructor.

Evaluation of student participation in this kind of wiki can measure the effectiveness of data organization, including the division of data into navigable blocks, integration with images, consistency in layout and attribution, and the cultivation of of an impersonal voice.

EXAMPLES

Social Justice Movements

North Woods

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