Look out! There's stormy waters ahead!

[Stormy Sea]. Retrieved July 26, 2009 from http://www.guildford.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/86664FD3-E231-4082-B9AB-911AC042D118/0/shipCopy.jpg

After viewing the Wikis in Plain English Video, I decided to try creating a wiki of my very own. This journey at the helm of the ship was not smooth sailing. There were certainly stormy waters as I sought to complete my voyage.

Dilemma #1: What to create a wiki on? I am not a self proclaimed "expert" on any subject, but I really wanted to take the helm of the ship and try creating a wiki. So, after much consideration, I decided to create a wiki for my Grade 2 social studies class. Our curriculum focuses on community and, in particular, our class, neighbourhood and city. So, why not create a wiki about a Grade 2 class' perspective of Swift Current?

Dilemma #2: Which site to create a wiki on? After having reviewed several wikis in my previous post and reading the recommendations of my classmates, I decided to try PBWorks. I was able to have a basic account for free, so I figured, why not?

Dilemma #3: How to write a wiki? I have never written a wiki before. This wiki is also unique in that I want the students to contribute to the majority of the site's material so I did not want to add a lot of content myself. As a result, what you see is a bare bones framework of where I want the students to begin rather than a completed wiki. As we complete each unit, I want the students to build on the site's content.

Dilemma #4: I really wanted to add a picture of the school to the wiki. Getting a picture, no problem. Adding a picture? Well, that took several attempts. I was expecting a picture button on the top toolbar like you would see in Microsoft Word. However, no such luck. After much searching, I found an image upload button in the right hand tool bar. Problem solved!

Dilemma #5: Some of my links didn't want to save. I tried to create an our school link to my wiki's main page and for some reason that particular link would not save. I tried it four times, each time with a different title. Each time I hit the save button, just as I did with my other links but, alas, it would not save. This was some of the roughest waters that I ventured through on my voyage. Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out why that particular link would not save.

So, my journey was not without it perils. However, on the whole I did find that is was quite easy to create a simple page. I certainly did not create a sophisticated wiki, rather just a framework for a page that is yet to come. Could my Grade 2 students post to the wiki? I believe that they will be able to type in their information. I will likely need to create the links for them and help them add pictures as needed. Luckily, we have a e-learning teacher for our school whose job is to help teachers use electronic resources in their classroom. I will be enlisting her help as I begin the creation of the wiki with the students. All in all, it was a positive experience that I look forward to building on as the school year progresses. If you would like to see my wiki framework here is the link to the site.