Publishing+Tool

=**Wikis as a Publishing Tool**=

Gone are the days of trying to publish student work through html and ftp servers! Which meant, well, most people just didn't do it. Students can easily publish any number of activities online. They can do it individually or in groups.

**Why?**
The question is actually why not? Empower and embolden them. Give them the opportunity to act professional/academically online. They need the practice, trust me. Plus, it could save a tree or two or allow you to take a traditional in class assignment to the next level.

For Teachers...
In my opinion, every teacher should have at least a basic classroom web site. There are a number of web site platforms available, including a wiki. Wikis provide a flexible tool and gives teachers the option of having students collaborate later on.

Examples:
 * [|Mr. Cambou's AP Government and World History Web Site (Google Sites)>]
 * [|AP World History 2007-08 (Wikispaces)]

Here is [|a whole workshop on Teacher Web Sites].

**For Students...**
It is actually a very basic idea, given the students an assignment and require that they post it online. It can take any number of forms and can vary in length and depth. For this type of project, students generally edit and publish only their own pages - there is little or no collaboration.

> This wiki serves as a electronic portfolio for students enrolled in a Freshman Composition class. > During my World War I Unit, students read poems by a number of WWI poets and then have to write their own. I've been doing this mini-project for years. I always had them e-mail their poems so I could go and post them on one of my web pages. It was always a hassle and I stopped doing it the last couple years. > > This year, I took the project further. In addition to writing their poems, they had to find images that represented the prose they had written. Not super techie or even high concept, but next to impossible a couple years ago. Here is another teacher who has done this same project with his students. Another teacher did a similar project on Civil War Poetry. > Students add articles about a specific science topic.
 * **Example #1: [|Freshmen Composition Wiki]**
 * **[[image:http://www.guhsd.net/mcdowell/guide/wwi/wwi.gif width="237" height="125" align="right"]]Example #2: [|World War I Poetry/Visualization Project]** |[|2008 Version]
 * **Example #3:** **[|Science Project]**

How do I do this?

 * 1) Develop the project and its requirements.
 * 2) Create the "front page" of the project that provides relevant information.
 * 3) Create any sub-pages, for instance, links to individual student pages - don't have all the students try and edit the same page to create the link to their own page.
 * 4) Make sure you consider the Wiki Logistics.
 * 5) Provide enough screen time for students to complete or at least start the project.

Additional Resources

 * How to - ePortfolios - //Constructing an interactive ePortfolio for formative, classroom-based assessment// by Helen C. Barrett, Ph.D.