Evaluation of Communication Tools:  Wiki

CRITERION	SCORE (1-3)	NOTES
Learning Effectiveness	2	- Provides simulations and real world experiences - When combined with teaching, the application extends the student’s learning
Reliability & Support	3	- Student is able to access the program with limited support - Efficiency in speed and design - Easily fixes human error
Ease of Use	3	- Program automatically saves work - Students at all levels are able to learn the tool with ease - Student can use several applications within one tool (video, communication, presentation, audio)
Safety	3	- Academic links - Individual login - Secure environment - Class roster to share work & interact with other users
Technology Requirements	3	- Unlimited free student & staff accounts - Collaboration on projects, documents - Web-based - Use on multiple platforms:  laptops iPads, iPods
Curriculum	1	Non-applicable

The most wonderful aspect about a wiki is how a group of participants are able to work together from anywhere.  Students are able to respond to a prompt or embedded link and have discussions.  Perhaps a response is a student’s created podcast that is posted on the wiki.  A wiki is an excellent collaboration tool that students benefit from in education but also has a real-world application to it.  Access to the wiki can be set up by invitation so security isn’t an issue.

I like the thought of students posting a writing piece, inviting people to collaborate with them on it and then finalizing their writing.  Another social studies idea would be for students to take a position on a current event, share their position on the wiki and defend their stance.  The communication in this scenario could lead to intense learning via language arts skills.