Classroom+Wikis



** Description: On June 10, 2009 our school will be celebrating International Day. Our class has chosen to study the beautiful country of France! The above wiki, MsJonesinFrance, was designed as a reference for my students to use to learn information about France. They will take the information they learn and display it on a board to share with other students on International Day. Click the banner above to visit our wikispace.**  ** Maryland Teacher Technology Standards: ** Access, evaluate, process, and apply information effectively and efficiently 1. Identify, locate, retrieve, and differentiate among a variety of electronic sources of information using technology 2. Evaluate information critically and competently for a specific purpose 3. Organize, categorize, and store information for efficient retrieval 4. Apply information accurately in order to solve a problem or answer a question**
 * I. Information Access, Evaluation, Processing, and Application

A. Use technology effectively and appropriately to interact electronically 1. Use telecommunications to collaborate with peers, parents, colleagues, administrators, and/or experts in the field B. Use technology to communicate information in a variety of formats 1. Select appropriate technologies for a particular communication goal 2. Use productivity tools to publish information 3. Use multiple digital sources to communicate information online
 * II. Communication

V. Integrating Technology into the Curriculum and Instruction Design, implement, and assess learning experiences that incorporate use of technology in a curriculum-related instructional activity to support understanding, inquiry, problem solving, communication and/or collaboration. 1. Assess students' learning/instructional needs to identify the appropriate technology for instruction 2. Evaluate technologu materials and media to determine their most appropriate instructional use 3. Select and apply research-based practices for integrating technology into instruction. 4. Use appropriate instructional strategies for integrating technology into instruction. 5. Select and use appropriate technology to support content-specific learning outcomes. 6. Develop an appropriate assessment for measuring student outcomes through the use of technology 7. Manage a technology-enhanced environment to maximize student learning.**

**Maryland Social Studies Standards:** **2.0. A. Elements of Culture 1. Describe various cultures a. Define how culture influences people 3.0.A Geographic Tools 1. Use geographic tools to locate places and describe the physical and human characteristics of those places 3.0.B Geographic Characteristics of Places and Regions 1. Describe similarities and differences of regions by using geographic characteristics 6.0.C Ask social studies questions 1. Identify a topic that requires further study. a. Idenitfy prior knowledge about the topic b. Pose questions about the topic**

**Reflections:** **My students were very excited about this project. When we heard about International Day, I figured that would be a great topic to do a project about. My students would be able to learn about another country. Many of them have no prior knowledge about life outside of Maryland, so this was the perfect opportunity to give them some background knowledge on an important country. One I signed all the students up, many caught on very quickly as to how to navigate Wikispaces. They loved clicking on the links and responding to each other in the Discussion board. Based on some of their time stamps, I could tell that a few were posting at home, so I am glad that they were continuing the learning process while at home, and not just doing it in school. I will definitely make Wikspaces a part of my classroom instruction in the future.**