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Christine Gmitro, Bozeman, MT
=**Self Asse​ ssments: **=  **Leslie** – My limited teaching experiences (1990 – 1993) didn’t include extensive staff development. Teachers took classes in the summers to earn their continuing education credit. Occasionally, usually during a staff meeting, we would have a brief discussion about discipline or new programs that were coming up. The professional development opportunities given to the Bozeman Public School teachers is far more extensive and professional. I think it is very important for any staff development to be relevant enough that teachers can leave the session and be ready to put new information into action. Sessions such as these are often very motivating to a teacher. However, we want to make sure that the next day, when the excitement of the class has come and gone, that the teachers have the necessary tools and support to move on. ====**Kathleen** - I have not yet had the opportunity to formally teach other than my student teaching and some occassional substitute teaching. When I was a student teacher, I had the opportunity to attend an in-school professional development session on teaching the 6+1 Writing Traits. I remember it being a very helpful session. One attitude that I noticed from many of the teachers was one of annoyance. They were all very busy, and were a little hesitant to attend. I can understand this, for teachers are so overloaded with their regular school day that adding on more can feel overwhelming. Hopefully, as SLMS we can provide professional development sessions that are succinct, applicable, and achievable for our staff and faculty to implement. I think that with the prevalence of Web 2.0 in all aspects of our lives that educators today are going to welcome the opportunity to learn more methods of integrating it into the classroom. SLMS really are a great asset to the school and teachers! ====

**Christine** - I attended several professional development meetings during my time as an English teacher. In one school district, the professional development days were optional due to the union contract, and I was even paid one hundred and twenty-five dollars to attend. The first time I attended, I earned my child/infant CPR certification. On another day, the English department devoted the entire time to creating grade level notebooks containing the standards, daily oral language drills for each week, and pacing guides. I found both days to be really useful. The other school district typically had the school’s staff meet and address current issues and then we would have presentations on such things as gang identifiers by guest speakers or fellow staff members would put together presentations. In addition, these days were used for departments to spend time discussing pertinent issues and to plan. In all, I have found professional development days useful because in both experiences the administration listened to what the teachers wanted to accomplish on those days. In a sense, the professional development days that I have been associated with didn’t offer extensive classes on hot new topics in teaching, but offered teachers a time to convene and discuss relevant issues as a school as well as gave departments time to address their needs. I believe there is merit to both approaches for professional development days as staying current on teaching methods or hammering out pacing guides and addressing departmental needs are equally relevant.

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=Topic: = We have chosen to focus our presentation on Wikis. Wikis (the Hawaiian word for fast or quick) utilize “open editing” software that allows several users to easily create and edit web pages in a collaborative manner. Users that have been authorized can edit the content by adding or taking away information, links, photographs, videos or other posts. Most wikis provide a history each time they are edited, so you have a record of who edited what and how it was changed. It is easy to find free wiki sites and there is no need to have a background in HTML to use a wiki; it is as simple as using a common word processing application like Microsoft Word. Wikis can be used in any school subject and almost any lesson plan to enhance the experience of the student’s learning development. The beauty of the wiki lies in its ability to provide an environment where students and teachers can collaborate in this cooperative learning process. Of course, students love this new technology because they are creating alongside and with their peers. They have an opportunity to interact and actively participate with others and express themselves in a variety of ways through posting photos, videos, podcasts, text, etc.

Our presentation would happen in a group setting. For this discussion, we are going to assume that the presentation is taking place at Bozeman Public Schools. In 1998, in response to the State-wide School Improvement Plan, Bozeman Public Schools established a committee to develop professional development opportunities for certified staff. Teachers may take classes during the Flex days in August, during the MEA days in October, or during other Flex or PIR days. Professional Development for the Bozeman Public Schools is provided at both the district and building level. There is a district committee that meets to help develop these educational opportunities. There are also building level committees that do that same thing. A training on Wikis could be held at both the district and the building level. It would depend upon request from teachers. It would not be a mandated training. It would be one of the classes that teachers can choose to take during professional development opportunities. To get step – up credit, a teacher needs to take classes during both the August Flex days and the October MEA days. Attending either the August or the October development days is mandatory. Attending classes both times would make a teacher eligible for step-up credit. The step-up credit class would also need to be approved by Human Resources ahead of time.

Most of the on-line professional development classes that include wikis also include other Web 2.0 technologies. If our class was to be short enough to fit into one of the professional development sessions offered to teachers, we think that a program developed by us would be of the most use. There are many on-line classes that teachers can take to learn about the many 2.0 technologies. Here are a few examples: [] and []. There are also many sites where teachers can learn about wikis on their own: [] and [] for example. However, many teachers would probably prefer some hands on, face to face education about a new technology. Teachers who are already on the technology bandwagon have probably already looked into wikis and chosen whether or not to incorporate them into their classrooms. As pay for providing this class, we would be paid for the hours of instruction plus 2X the hours of instruction for prep time.

As part of our presentation, we would have a sample wiki set up – like the one that was developed for this project. We would use an Epson projector to show the process of setting up a wiki to the participants. We would also go through several suggestions for use of wikis in a classroom. These examples would include some sample wikis found on the web and we would also include ideas of how teachers could use wikis in other classroom settings.

= =
 * __ English Wikis: __**

**Webquest for Richard III**: [] Students are split into groups to research different aspects of Richard III in an historical context and are then required to post their findings. **Short Stories 10th Grade** : http://bhsenglish10.wikispaces.com/ Students are separated into groups and each is assigned a short story. The groups are to create a wikipage detailing certain elements of their short story **General English classroom wiki** : [|http://sfhsaplit.wetpaint.com/#] This wiki reflects a teacher’s wiki page serving as a homepage for all aspects of the English classroom.

=**__History Wikis:__**=

This wiki reflects a teacher’s wiki page serving as a homepage for all aspects of the history classroom. **AP History Exam Review wiki** : [|http://www.ahistoryteacher.com/~ahistory/apwhreview/index.php?title=AP_World_History_Review_Wiki] Very comprehensive website constructed as a review process for students preparing to take the AP exam. **Ninth grade collaborative project on the French Revolution:** http://jspivey.wikispaces.com/9th+Grade+French+Revolution+Wiki
 * General history classroom wiki**: http://armstrong-history.wikispaces.com/

= = =__Math Wikis:__=

A comprehensive wiki for the math classroom that includes math lessons, course syllabus, worksheets and answers. Math department wiki. Extremely comprehensive.
 * Matt van Raalte’s math ** ** class wiki ** : http://vanraalte.wikispaces.com/
 * AP Calculus blogspot with a wiki solutions manual **: []
 * The Dalton math wiki **: []

=__**Foreign Languages Wikis:** __=


 * The instructor can post an elaborate photo on the wiki site and then ask students to compose and write three to five sentences describing items in the photo in the language of study. Once students have posted their sentences, they are free to make suggestions and corrections of other student’s work. They can also comment about another student’s sentences. Because the wiki creates a history of all changes, the instructor is able to see who is editing what. Here is a link to a great French educational wiki. http://mariajose83.wikispaces.com/Quelques+liens+utiles


 * Set up a wiki site with another classroom in a country that speaks the language your class is studying. Students could post photos, videos, pod casts, etc. Conversations can take place; students can practice their language skills with each other. This would provide a direct contact for students to learn about the culture and language of study. The wiki would be open to all the students, thus each student has the chance of meeting someone who has similar interests. Students who post podcasts can hear firsthand the variety in accents and fluctuations that are present in a new language of study. Find more information at this link []


 * Foreign language teachers can create a “correction competition” lesson where several teacher-posted sentences are posted in French with multiple mistakes. Students can work in pairs or groups to find and correct the mistakes. Students can even correct the mistakes of other students' edits for extra credit points.


 * Students can build a photo French dictionary for practicing vocabulary words. The teacher could post a topic such as Holidays, and then students could post photos and vocabulary translations for each photo.

=__**Art Wikis:**__= ==
 * There are also several uses for a wiki in an art classroom. Most of these ideas are compatible for the visual arts, music, theater, film and photography.


 * Students can create an on-line classroom art exhibit. Each student can submit pieces of art (music, film, theater performance, photographs, ect.), create an artist bio and artist statement. Other students can comment on the student work or post art or music that may be similar in some way. []


 * Students can work on collaborative musical projects by composing together using specific software like Garage Band. They can post their latest composition for critique and compilation with other instruments. By adding a link to where one student can find the easy-to-use music composition software, students can lay a variety of tracks and then create a collaborative piece of music. Free music composition software can be found at []


 * Students can complete a museum project where each student researches an artist and posts photos, graphics, videos, or podcasts of that artists’ work as well as other background information. Then other students can participate in critiques of the artists work or critique the original student’s critique of the artist.


 * A film crew team can assemble the various elements that need to come together for creating a short film. This would include people working on the shooting of the film, editing, music, credits, casting, etc.

=__**Science Wikis:**__=




 * Students develop an interactive, multimedia glossary of science terms used throughout a chapter, unit or the whole year. Each student can be responsible for certain areas of interest. This creates a peer-built reference source.


 * Students can complete, collaborate, and present scientific investigations on the wiki. They can complete their actual lab write-up online including posting photos or videos of the actual lab they performed. Once the lab is complete, other students in the class can review and comment on lab processes and results. The teacher can also provide links to online animations and demonstrations of very common lab experiments for students to view or for parents at home who want to assist students remotely. []


 * Scientific data collection can be compiled for a whole-class experiment. Each student can be responsible for collecting visual, audio, video, or text to participate in the experiment. This can be developed further by working with other students in different parts of the state, country, or world to study science issues.


 * Students can compile a year-long nature journal that shows their observations and interactions with nature. They can provide photos, videos, and hyperlinks. Other students can view the links, comment and add their own experiences with the same topic. []

=__General ideas for wiki use in the classroom:__=
 * Students and parents can review other students' notes, assignments, etc. if they miss a day of school. Teachers can post lecture notes, additional sources of information, etc.


 * Students and teachers can post photos, videos, text, animation, scanned images, hyperlinks, etc. that may provide differential learning experiences for the class.


 * Each student can be assigned an area to compose a summary of information that could be on an upcoming exam. Each student can post their summary to a wiki. When finished, each student has a complete study guide.


 * Students can post questions for assistance on homework issues, peer feedback, discussion questions, etc.


 * Teachers can use wikis to create collaborative lesson planning with other educators.

=__Free wiki creation sites:__= [] [] **Wikispaces is giving away 250,000 ad-free, private K-12 Plus wikis! All the features and benefits that normally cost $50/year - for free. No fine print, no usage limits, no advertising, no catches. Check out the link above for info.**

=__Great reference sites for using wikis in the classroom:__= http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/ [] [] [] []

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=__What we learned about staff development design through this process...**__= Leslie - I enjoyed creating this wiki with Kathleen and Christine. We collaborated on what we wanted to include and then we divided up the sections. This gave us an opportunity to work on it on our own time. We edited each other's material and gave each other suggestions. It was very much a "group project". I think that if we were to do an actual staff development class on wikis, this would be the way to go about it. We created one and included what information we would want to share with teachers. Instead of just talking about a wiki, we are using one to show others how to create one. That should make the class a bit less overwhelming for participants who are less tech-savvy.

Kathleen - This has been a fun process. I love working with others on creating something, for you are able to brainstorm ideas. I would have never thought about working on anything Web 2.0 for this project until Leslie shared her thoughts on wikis! I am so glad she did, for now I know about something I really knew nothing about before. The only hard part is trying not to step on other group members' toes. I did not want to force the group into doing something they might not like. Other than that this was great! Christine - This has been my first online collaboration project, and I’m really impressed with the whole process. Kathleen and Leslie brought a great deal of enthusiasm and amazing initiative. Additionally, I am really impressed with everyone’s ability to meet, make decisions, and stay in touch on a continual basis. Throughout this process, I have learned a great deal regarding web 2.0 and more specifically wikis. After exploring the various sites used, I am under the impression that wikis can provide a new and fun dimension to the classroom. Furthermore, I think the way we designed our presentation would prove useful for a professional development class. Using a wiki to teach the lesson coupled with providing a brief history of the wiki along with examples for use in the classroom is a clear and concise format for teachers to easily grasp the concept and understand the wiki’s potential in a 30-50 min professional development presentation.