My Personal Learning Summary

One of the most significant things I learned throughout my time in Fundamentals of Technology for Education (EME 5050) is how to use educational wikis to supplement curriculum and keep up with parents. I had not heard of wikis before I taking this class (other than Wikipedia). I was not aware that virtually anyone can create and maintain a wiki for free. The idea of wikis was new and very scary at the beginning and middle of the semester, but by now (the end of the semester), wikis are not scary at all.

I learned that wikis can be used to create virtual learning environments where students can read and gather information for any number of topics. Students can respond to that information and the posts of other classmates directly on the website! Teachers can also help students gather information for and publish informational wikis.

My favorite use of wikis thus far is to use them for digital book reviews composed and edited by students. Wikis of this nature allow students to get a glimpse of a book before reading it, and best of all, it comes from one of their peers! Students can watch/listen to/read book reviews and then respond to them through the wiki. They can also read the books they learned about through the website and put their two cents in to other students’ reviews.

Another fantastic use of wikis is as a classroom organization tool. Teachers can create wikis with calendar information, important notes, homework information, curriculum information, special events, test dates, conference appointments, and more. As a parent and a teacher, I have learned that one of the best things a teacher can do for their students is to stay in touch with their parents. Parents also usually want to know what is going on in the classroom, and weekly updates on a wiki can provide that classroom connection.

I consider myself already technology savvy, so I am very glad to be able to broaden my knowledge and experiences with technology. After all, we live in a world today where technology is becoming more and more involved with our daily lives, and we should keep up with it, as it will not wait for us.