Wikis in the Classroom

I have never used a wiki in the classroom before, partly because I didn't really understand the significance of them or how they could be used in the classroom. Being uneducated in the wiki's many uses, I looked at it as something similar to a blog or a website. Upon further examination, I realize the one function that makes the wiki especially different is it's ability to have students edit and revise whatever they are working on and it does not require them to necessarily be in the same place.

I see it working well with an independent reading project where they could have people who read the same book share the things they liked or disliked about the novel. I think it would also be beneficial if students were working on a group project or group paper because they could edit, delete, or add comments as they collaboratively work together.

I see wikis being useful when students are doing literature circles with a specific group. They could assign roles in the wiki, write down what each person will be responsible for, share their insights or ask questions to the group where they might need more clarification. Because of this, I decided to create my wiki around the theme of literature circles and how students could use this site for collaboration and discussion. Each page could be about the following: roles and list the specific roles they can choose from, character analysis, plot summaries, and likes/dislikes about the novel. Here is the link to my wiki: Literature Circles Forum