Wiki+reviews


 * Date: Feb 8, 2011**


 * only 15 people so far....**


 * Assignment**: Review and rate the educational wikis listed on the chart below.
 * Tips**:
 * Follow the format of the example when writing your own;
 * Maintain the order of the chart;
 * In case you need to find an alternate wiki to review, a complete list of educational wikis can be found here.

Example:
 * **Number** || **Reviewer** || **Wiki** ||
 * Example || B. Forsyth || http://minaretsshow.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 1 || Kevin C. || http://kkps-r25.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 2 || Tim || http://105.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 3 || Hussain || http://1000names.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 4 || Birunthaa || [] ||
 * 5 || Edward || http://21centuryedtech.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 6 || Sing Yu || [] ||
 * 7 || Kevin L. || http://adamsnews.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 8 || Alan || http://ah-bon-french.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 9 || Amy || http://aiscfilmclub.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 10 || Julie || http://aristotle-experiment.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 11 || Frank || http://delmarhistory8.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 12 || Vivian || http://awoodbridge.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 13 || Katherine || http://digitalartstechacademy.wikispaces.com/DATA+Wiki+Home ||
 * 14 || Austin || http://bergmannvikings.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 15 || Johnson || http://bookleads.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 16 || Zane || [] ||
 * 17 || Adam || http://britishromanticism.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 18 || Alex || http://burtonstechtips.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 19 || Allan || https://thecavesofmull.wikispaces.com/The+Caves+of+Mull ||
 * 20 || Michael 310 || http://ccit205.wikispaces.com/ ||
 * 21 || Michael 309 || http://civic-literacy.wikispaces.com/ ||

**Minarets High School Weekly Show** B. Forsyth

**Wiki concept:** a wiki promoting a multimedia contest for Media Arts students from Minaret High School in O'Neals, California.

**Strengths**:
 * Clarity, simplicity, logical organization
 * All original creative material in videos

**Weaknesses**:
 * Dark purple colour scheme is visually unappealing
 * Use of Vimeo instead of Youtube = less accessible because it requires a paid subscription to upload videos
 * Although it is a “work-in-progress,” at the time of review there was very little content (other than the videos) available
 * No prize or reward for winning the contest

**Conclusion**: The MHS Weekly Show wiki is an interesting concept, and will be very interesting and entertaining when more content is added. Although it has the potential for much better, right now I give it **6/10**.

= Mr. Armstrong's U.S. History = -Frank


 * Wiki concept:** a wiki made to view assignments and topics covered in classes of Mr. Armstrong from Del Mar Middle School


 * Strengths:**
 * Assorted class resources are useful and relevant
 * Wiki is organized very well
 * A great deal of information in the links provided for the students


 * Weaknesses:**
 * All input is made from teacher and it seems very one sided (Lack of student input)
 * Too many links to click through
 * Lack of pictures on pages other than home page


 * Conclusion:**

While this wiki does provide a great deal of information, it does not really have any input from students other than stuff they hand in. Only the teacher controls the wiki as opposed to a collaborative effort between students and teachers. In this way, the teacher has to do a lot of work, while the wiki will expand slower than ours for example. Everything else is done quite well, but the lack of any page input other than the teacher makes me give this an **7.85/10**.

-Tim
 * Ms. Wolfe’s Course Wiki **


 * Wiki concept**: This is a wiki that allows the teacher and students to update each other with information pertaining to the course, and for students to hand in work and discuss.

- Visually appealing background - Updated by teacher frequently - Useful links
 * Strengths**

- Not many student contributions other than projects - Not many pictures - Too many links to click through
 * Weaknesses**


 * Overall**: I thought that this is a good wiki for students to stay updated throughout the course. However, the teacher seems to be the only one making contributions, and the wiki will not expand quickly. There are also too many links to click through in order to get to a certain page, and since they all look the same visually, it is easy to get lost. Overall, this wiki is well done, and students shouldn't have too much trouble staying updated throughout the course. I give this wiki an **8/10.**

-SingYu
 * Teresa Almeida d'Eça **

Wiki concept**:** This is a wiki where the students of Teresa Almeida d'E ça can find exercises based on their textbook, //English Train//.


 * Strengths **
 * Clear and concise
 * Teacher gives one on one reviews of her students' work


 * Weaknesses **
 * Bland background
 * Navigation could do some work
 * No student contributions

There are no student contributions to the site, and the bland background makes for a rather unattractive site. However, the teacher does an excellent job with updating information and makes sure all assignments are very clear, especially for a class that appears to be an ESL class of Spanish speakers. Small Spanish explanations are provided in brackets to make sure students understand everything. This and the one to one reviews provided by the teacher makes it clear the teacher was very involved with her students. The wiki does exactly what it was created for, plus a few extras, but that's about it. I give this wiki a 7/10.
 * Overall: **

-Michael (309)
 * Civics-Literacy Resources **


 * Wiki Concept: ** A wiki created to provide online resources for civics education for everyone


 * Strengths **
 * · Many links with easy access
 * · Well organized into categories to provide easier researching
 * · Good layout with an image in each category
 * · Wide range of resources from newspaper articles to government files
 * · Covers more than just civics


 * Weaknesses **
 * · Not much detail depicting what each individual link may offer
 * · Sites are very general
 * · Although there are already many resources, not much editing has occurred recently


 * Conclusion: ** The simplicity of this site is what makes it appealing and it offers a wide range of resources. Although, there are many links, they are too broad and not much detail is provided to inform people of what they will expect to see on the site. Rating: 6/10

The Caves of Mull -Allan

**Wiki Concept:**  "This is a text based adventure game created by pupils of Perth Academy as part of their English Class..." - the creator of the wiki, NWINTON


 * Strengths: **
 * An interesting concept and some of the caves are quite creative
 * No errors in the hyperlinks
 * Colour scheme gives a good feeling of being in a cave
 * A variety of contributions from the students making each cave unique


 * Weaknesses: **
 * Many of the "caves" are badly written and don't make much sense
 * Only one adventure that is quite short
 * Much more effort could've been put into some of the "caves"
 * Doesn't feel complete in some parts
 * Not really educational at all

Rating: 6/10 
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 12pt;">Conclusion: **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Can keep you occupied with it's many unique caves and paths but leaves you disappointed during and after the adventure with its many errors. Also, it is not educational.

=Digital Innovation and Cultural Transformation= ** Michael Zhang (310) **

** Wiki Concept: An educational wiki which supports the class (ccit-205) offered at the University of Toronto-Mississauga joint program. **

** Strengths: **

** • Straightforward and to the point ** ** • Has a serious characteristic which is typical of a university wiki **

** Weaknesses: **

** • Not designed as a place for fun and games ** ** • Is a private wiki to prevent anyone editing it ** ** • Is more of a project/assignment for the students than a free chat ** ** • Very boring wiki(not many pictures) **

** Conclusion: **

** For the purpose that this wiki is designated for, I would give this a 7.5/10. This is because this wiki is designed as a place to do work, not as a place to play games. However, overall, it’s not a very exciting wiki, so I would probably give it a 6/10. **

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%; text-align: right;">Katherine Ma =<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">DigitalArtsTechAcademy - DATA Wiki Home = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Wiki concept:__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An informational wiki about the DigitalArtsTechAcademy, or DATA, program

__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Strengths: __
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Visually appealing, simple, not too cluttered
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Organized navigation
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Very detailed information in links for not only students but those interested in the program

__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Weaknesses: __
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Typos such as 'Media LIteracy' and 'Calender'
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Outdated links
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Uses 'Student Worx' instead of 'Student Works' for no apparent reason, which could be seen as unprofessional

__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Conclusion: __ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This wiki is very useful for the students, but for those who are interested in the program, it could be confusing. There are working links to the students' pages and video channels, but important documents such as the application and course outline are all outdated. This wiki is probably not in use anymore, but if it was still 2008, the links may not have been much use because they lead to unavailable Google documents. The pages for each course seem useful, as they contain a brief summarization of the course and a calendar (not outdated). For students of the program, the wiki only contains calendars and some link such as the DATA blog and DATA video channel, so its purpose does not seem to be for handing in assignments. I give it a 6/10.

** Mr. Woodbridge’s Classroom Wiki ** Vivian Liu

** Wiki concept: ** a wiki used for Mr. Woodbridge’s class at Grover Cleveland HS, providing students with information about assignments, resources, etc.

** Strengths: ** ** Weaknesses: **
 * Links are organized on each page for easy access
 * Some humourous pictures on certain pages
 * Teacher resources are also available
 * Design and layout is simple and fairly bland
 * Duplication of pages making the navigation difficult
 * Almost no student input/edits

** Overall: ** Although this wiki was made for a classroom, just like ours, there haven’t been many edits and pages posted for the students’ benefit. I think a factor that affected this was that the wikispace wasn’t very personalized, as the majority of the posts and edits were made by the teacher. However, for the pages that do exist, they have organized rubrics and assignments available, all organized into links. Overall, I give this wiki a **6/10.**

<span style="color: #ff00ea; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Katika Primary School

Kevin Cai
 * Wiki Concepts**: An online learning tool for the children of room 25 in Katika Primary School

· Very attractive home page · Easy to navigate photos on home page · Journal-like format
 * Strengths**:

· Not much information about anything on home page · Lots of unattractive text and photos lower on the page · Not much of anything on website, except for comments such as “homework handed today”
 * Weaknesses**:


 * Overview**: I think that this website is actually quite pointless. It talks about students of higher grades, while having the format presentable to elementary school children. There isn’t much information on anything, but the layout is nice. 5/10.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 24pt;">Ah-Bon; <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">Madame Thomas' School of French. (Alan Li)

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Wiki concept:** An educational French wikispace promoting an avant-garde teaching format and textbook.


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Strengths: **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Strong content, large number of pages and variety of apps.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Interesting/unique pages. Many forms of content.


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Weaknesses: **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Extremely unorganized. Navigation is page by page jumping, without proper categorization.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">No clear purpose in mind, poor structuring. Content is messy and no guidelines for usage.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Seems more focused on ads and promoting the company product than actual utility.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">No layout. Visually painful.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Not as much a WikiSpace than an actual website. Not contextually appropriate.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Strong content, but poor organization makes it extremely difficult to get a constructive outcome. __<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">6/10. __
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Conclusion: **

__** University **** of Washington- Bothell **** Campus **__ Birunthaa Jeyanandan

**Wiki Concept:** A wiki that allows people on campus of the University of Washington to update on events or upcoming events.

**Strengths:** 1) There are different categories of information. This means that the readers can pick and choose the sections they would like to read in order to learn more about the university.  2) The organization and the layout look very professional and neat. 3) Students are invited to add postings at will, and to express their opinions pertaining to these ideas.

**Weaknesses:** 1) There is not a great deal of information pertaining to the university. 2) All the pages are 90% filled with text, which looks too plain and boring. This lack of visual interest will likely bore the readers and not impel them to continue reading. 3) There are several grammatical errors in the introduction to the website.

**Conclusion:** Overall, the website is a good one. It offers sound information and is a good campus resource. The website could be made better if additional visuals were added, and if an editor were to regularly check the site for spelling and grammar. Also, if students from other colleges and universities were made aware of this website, they might be interested in becoming more aware of what is happening on campus and might wish to participate in some of the activities. Overall, I would rate this website a 6.5/10.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; margin: 0cm -72pt 0pt 0cm;">﻿The Aristotle Experiment <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0cm -72pt 0pt 0cm;">Julie Liang

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0cm -72pt 0pt 0cm;">//Wiki Concept:// A wiki advertising a high school and discussing new ways of learning. //Strengths:// - There are many sections and links, leading to information surrounding the high school //Weaknesses:// - Lacks organization and easy access/understanding of sections and links - Layout is plain and boring - Does not advertise itself very well (Quote: "We're not the biggest school in the area; our sports teams do all right" - Not much relevant information is given //Conclusion:// This site seems like a messy, half formed attempt at advertising a high school with its disorganization, irrelevant information and general blandness. It is difficult to navigate through the site and I honestly had a hard time understanding the point of the wiki-space. I give this a 2/10

The American International School in Cyprus Film Club Amy

Wiki Concept: The wiki informs others (the audience) of special events that are hosted by the school, but mostly of the storyline of different films.

Strengths: - the descriptions provided of many of the films are very clear and easy to understand - The is a visual provided on each page which makes it more entertaining - easy navigation on side bar

Weaknesses: - Not every film has a description - The side navigation bar and the colour of the background is very similar, making the navigation bar difficult to read - The first page was rather messy - The black background is rather unappealing

Conclusion: I felt that many of the pages were laid out very neatly, giving detailed descriptions on each page. But some of the pages don't have descriptions on them. The first page was very messy. The wiki did not provide much information about the School Film Club, instead it only gave information about different films, which i felt ruined the point of the wiki. I would rate this a 6.5/10

**Conclusion:**
==== The British Romanticism wiki is an uninteresting topic in my opinion. If more graphics were added it would be a better wiki. The layout could be made more visually pleasing by focusing on attention to detail more. The wiki does not seem to have a great deal of potential. Current I would score it as a 4**/10**.

**Mrs. Bergmann's Grade 6 Geography Wiki** - Austin O'Boyle **Wiki concept:** A wiki made for Mrs. Bergmann's geography class to access available internet-based geography content. **Strengths**:
 * Simplicity
 * Interesting videos on home page
 * Calendar of events is a useful tool for students to plan their use of time.

**Weaknesses**: **Conclusion**: This geography class wiki has the potential to be a very useful wiki. The layout could be made more attractive by changin the colour scheme and adding pictures and videos to some pages that were mainly consisting of links. It would also be much easier to use if the important pages were listed on the navigation. Right now I would rate this wiki a 6.5/10 but it could become much more useful if some changes are made.
 * Red, Orange, and yellow colour blend is a little tacky
 * There is very little geography related content easily accessed in the wiki
 * Some pages are very boring and just have links to websites.
 * Many of the useful pages aren't shown on the navigation