Ready...Set...Wiki!

Photo Copyright Lindsey T.

I would like to start this reflection with something witty, clever and possibly even profound. However, I feel like for that to happen I would need to get a set of jumper cables from the garage and clip up my ears and turn the key. Frankly, I am spent mentally and it is all thanks to the wonderfully exhausting experience of creating my own curriculum page. 

 What is a curriculum page? Well, if you are a member of my class reading this and you actually had that thought, I’m worried. Otherwise, for any and all interesting, a curriculum page is a wonderful little bubble of calm in a vast tumultuous sea of the Web. What makes this little bubble so calm? Well, we have all had the fun of having an important assignment to research and produce, but our only option is to venture blindly into the seemingly endlessness of the Internet with only a couple of vague ideas and a blank Google search bar that almost seems to mock you. Thankfully, however, the glory that is curriculum pages is there for us. They are an ideal solution for teachers wanting to keep their students both informed and inspired. Instead of an entire ream of paper full of handouts and charts and photocopied information, the entirety of an assignment’s resources can be boiled down for both teacher and student, neatly organized and holding as much information and media as is needed (and then some). Curriculum pages are flexible in their styles and content, needing only to suit the needs of the classroom and those who would use it. I was very lucky to look through the multitude of examples my professor provided for me this week, and was frankly a little in awe of all the different options available to me. Some people used Wikis, others education-specific WikiSpaces, and also WebQuests.

Photo Copyright Casey West

Then the time came for me to make my own. This curriculum page would act as a trial run for one that will be included in my big culminating project to come at the end of the semester. However, that did not mean it would be some wimpy little half-assed page. No, I would go whole-hog, all-out and balls-to-the-wall (pardon my language). After all, this page is still going on the Internet, for any and all to see, so effort was a necessity. So I hunkered down and grabbed all the wonderful links I’ve built up through weeks of research and made myself a Wiki. My focus is eBooks and their possibilities in the classroom. Let’s do this!

Wowza. Just wowza, people. While other projects this semester have required a good bit more skill than this one, I’m pretty sure this was the most exhausting. I’m not entirely sure why, but there was something about making sure that every section, sub-section and even sub-sub-section was formatted right and had the right links that just wiped me out. Overall, however, I’m pretty pleased with my result. I was able to pull in and organize every useful link in my collection, and put it together in a way that I hope is clear, concise and helpful. Admittedly, the page isn’t as sassy and colorful as I would normally prefer, but I knew that was going to happen when I chose the Wiki format.

Even in my exhausted mental state, I have to say that I have definitely learned a lot from this assignment. When it actually came time to put links and resources into my page, I realized that many that I would use myself simply didn’t have enough relevant information to make it worthwhile to my audience. Also, proper prep of a curriculum page is essential. If I had made a simple outline of what to put in what section/sub-section ahead of time, I could have saved myself a lot of time and consideration today. As with everything in teaching, if you do not use your time wisely and prepare yourself properly, trouble and headaches are your deserved rewards.

And now, it is time for me to grab a bottle of Gatorade (because I’m pretty sure my brain is sweating), and hit the showers. For while I’m done with this assignment, it is only a practice run.

Please to enjoy: EBooks and Education - Wiki