CEP 811: Wiki Lab

 For my Wikipedia task, I chose to edit information found on the city of DeWitt, Michigan. I am a graduate of DeWitt Public Schools, and I researched the Wikipedia site on the topic of education. As I looked through the site, I quickly realized that while there was a link to the school system, there was no information found about the schools. I chose to add an “Education” section between the “Geography” and “Demographics” portions. It was important to me that the schools were identified, along with the grade levels as each school focuses on various academic grades. Please click here to view the page after I edited this information. Although it can also be viewed in my screenshot, I added the following information:

“DeWitt has an outstanding legacy in regards to education. The city is home to the following schools, which are divided among grade levels:
Fuerstenau Early Childhood Center (Pre-K and K)
Schavey Road Elementary School (1st and 2nd Grade)
Scott Elementary School (3rd and 4th Grade)
Herbison Woods School (5th and 6th Grade)
DeWitt Junior High School (7th and 8th Grade)
DeWitt High School (9th-12th Grade)
To view more information about each school, visit the DeWitt Public Schools link using the External Links feature.”

I have included both a before and after screenshot of the Wikipedia page, to better show what was added to the site. 

 Before Screenshot

After Screenshot

For my personal wiki, I used Wikispaces to create a site for my students to upload digital projects so that parents may view them. Please click here to view my personal wiki.  I am currently in the process of creating a classroom website which can be linked to this wiki. Since I cannot password protect for each child using this wiki, I will be assigning random numbers to each parent to view their own child’s work. Names will not be posted to the projects to remain anonymous and protect student confidentiality. I have also included a section where, if parents have the available technology, I am able to hold a Skype conference. Once a meeting time has been set, the parent can simply click on the “call me” button to contact me. I also practiced adding every feature but for now, I do not want to overload the parents and I have chosen to stick to the basics since this is a supplemental site to our classroom web page. I really enjoyed navigating through this particular wiki, and I am excited to use it in my own classroom next year.