While I realize that I have so much to still learn about the wiki and all that it can do, I am at the point now where I feel comfortable using it in the classroom. The only problem that I am running into is that I am not able to use it as much as I would like at this point because I have a student teacher. I know that part of his experience is in working with the students, and there are certain things that he must accomplish. However, I do feel a bit stifled in a way. I would like to do so many things with the students such as publishing some of the poems that they will be starting in the next couple weeks, but I don’t necessarily feel that I have that freedom at this point. I could certainly work with the students on the wiki in class, but as I know that I am doing a disservice to my student teacher who has so much to accomplish in the little bit of time that he will be with us. I have introduced him to the site, and although I am reluctant as I mentioned before, I would be alright with him using it with the students, I know that he is feeling overwhelmed as it is. He does not have any experience with this technology, and I hate to put anything more on his plate at this point. I feel like I am just going to have to wait until the end of April to really start to use the site the way that I would like. Unfortunately, the class will be wrapping up at that point. I would still hope that others will occasionally check it out and offer any pointers.
One of the things that I have been tossing around is having the students submit their multi-genre projects online. This way, much like Renee’s students, they would be able to view one another’s work and make some suggestions. The students have already created their own pages so this could just be a link on their individual wiki pages. Again, I always feel that time is against me. I wish that I had implemented this earlier in the year so that the students could be using it much more efficiently at this point. This multi-genre project really seems to lend itself to this form of technology, but I just haven’t had the opportunity to meet with the students to get them comfortable with it. Most of my students are doing much the same thing as me by learning as they go. In fact, they are most likely more comfortable doing that than I was at first. However, I do know that I have some students who are a little more reluctant to use the site because they do not have the background knowledge. My plan of action for next year is to implement this early on in the year so that the students become more comfortable using it. I am also attending a seminar on using wikis and moodles in the classroom on April 13, and I am hoping to gain even more insight that I can apply to my own wiki.
