WEB 2.0 - Wiki

For this Web 2.0 assignment, I decided to create a wiki, which I had never done before.  I have used wikipedia to find information, but that is the extent of my experience with wikis.  I decided to create a wiki for our research project for this class that my group could use to write our research paper.  I have had experience in the past with writing papers in groups, and it has always been extremely difficult to do, because we would always end up with several word documents floating around, and it was confusing and inefficient.  I thought that in using a wiki, each member of the group would be able to add information and writing whenever they wanted, and we could read and edit each other's work as well.

To create the wiki, I went to google and did a search on "create a free wiki" and found a website, pbwiki.com.  All I had to do was enter my email address and a name for the wiki, and that was it!  I then added the other "writers" (my group members) by adding their email addresses, and pbwiki automatically sent an email to each of them, inviting them to join the wiki.  They needed to enter a password for themselves, and they were all set!

So far, the wiki has worked out extremely well for this project.  We have been able to add, edit, write, etc. without problems.  Also, the wiki website sends out an email to each member of the wiki whenever something is added or edited, so that we each know when changes are made.  We were also able to create several "pages" of the wiki for different portions of the research project.  I have found using the wiki MUCH easier than any other way of collaborating on a group project.

This would be an extremely useful tool as a teacher in that it could be used by students to complete a group project or even a larger class project.  It allows each member to contribute, and it can be changed and added to at any given time, from any place.  Students would be able to work at school, at home, or anywhere with the internet.  

http://tesolliteracylearning.pbwiki.com