Web 2.0 Tool Review for Synthesis

A great tool for helping students synthesize information is wiki spaces. A wiki is an open communication site where both students and teachers can post, edit, and share information. Many teachers were at first skeptical about wikis, as most saw it only as a burden since each of us already had a school “website,” but as our principal encouraged us to move over, most did. Wikis are extremely easy to use, and update like one would publish a Word Doc to the web. The navigation is simple, and there seems to be no limit on how many links and pages one can have on their own site.

The easiest use for the wiki is to simply post notes and extra information about a topic on the website. Then absentee students, parents with questions, or the student that is constantly “forgetting” their book bag in their locker, can have access to digital notes anywhere they have internet service. Another great use of a wiki is that it allows the site facilitator to post assignments, links to articles, web 2.0 tools, and give directions for students to synthesize and understand on their own or in a group. I especially like this for PBL's and learning contracts. Currently, I have posted on my wiki a learning contract for our novel Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Students are able to pick from a variety of assignments and web tools to amass the number of points needed for the grade desired. This type of activity also helps with differentiated instruction as students are able to pick and choose the projects and presentation mediums that they are most comfortable with.

As Gardner talks about synthesizing as a way of thinking about connections, I also like to pose my thoughts and connections on a topic as I present the information to the students. During our persuasive writing unit I post how I came to my topic, created a thesis, and refuted an argument. My goal is that if students are able to see my thought process, and how I came to my end result, they will have a better understanding of how they should synthesize their own information gathered into a complete essay. This was the first year that I posted my persuasive writing thought process on my wiki, and my students responded with some of the best persuasive essays that I have received in a long time.

My wiki space can be viewed publicly at www.MrLongstaffEnglish.wikispaces.com

For students to edit and post on pages not accessible by the public, they are given a user name and password from the school district that allows them to log on to the page privately.