6 - Wiki

Jefferson Middle School in San Gabriel, CA includes 'class pages' on their school's website. Sticking with my subject of interest, I chose the 8th grade Honors History class. The class page contains the teacher's contact information and links to history resources. The supply list for the 2015-16 school year is also still available for parents to see. The 'Announcements' section may contain more information for students and parents, but not much is shown without logging in to the school's site. These specific class sites would be very useful for updates throughout the year, similar to the blackboard sites we use at FSU.

When it comes to teacher productivity and efficiency, both the podcast and the textbook reference word processing and spreadsheets as useful tools. A suite like Microsoft Office is very useful because of the different applications included. Chapter 7 of the text lists organization and the use of formulas as two descriptors of electronic spreadsheets. I plan to use spreadsheets to further analyze test scores and averages. The data displayed on the spreadsheets should give me a quick and organized idea of median grades and associated trends. I can use this information to adjust my teaching methods as needed. The other applications, like word processing, can then be used to change lesson plans or to take notes on my observations. As the podcast states, having these digital tools allows for teachers to easily share data and compare their findings.

I learned a lot from the wiki assignment this week. The software on the website was new to me and learning the shortcuts and techniques took some time. However, after understanding the concepts and embracing the link functions, I was able to assemble the wiki with my group members and utilize our newly made Website Evaluation Form. While the site we used may not be the most user friendly application, the group was able to work together because of the 'share' feature. With more practice we may have been able to improve the aesthetics of the wiki. I can see how designing a wiki for my future class(es) could be useful for sharing information and links.