Zoho+Wiki

Zoho Wiki is an excellent communication tool, allowing teachers to post assignments, schedules, resources, and student progress. This tool not only keeps students aware of what is going on in their classroom, but it keeps parents up to date as well. Teachers are able to post assignements, online schedules of due dates, resources such as video clips and pictures and websites, and student progress tools so that students and their parents know exactly how the student is doing in school. Because Zoho Wiki is online, it is accessable 24/7.
 * __Intro and discription__**

The Zoho Wiki can be used in the classroom as an extremely effective communication tool. As a teacher, Zoho Wiki can be used to keep students informed and engaged in class work. Some of the many feature that are available on Zoho Wiki include:
 * __Brief Overview__**


 * Ability to post homework assignments and study materials that are available at any time for student viewing and use.
 * Online schedules and calendars can make due dates and future assignments clear for students, as well as help with the planning aspect of organizing the school year/semester.
 * Video clips, photos, and slide-shows can all be posted to enhance the students' learning, or to feature what they have been accomplishing in the classroom.
 * Those concerned with the students' progress can also maintain a strong understanding of what is going on in class. Again, featuring the students' progress can be beneficial in this regard as well.

//Effectiveness// First, when all students and parents have or can get to a reliable internet outside of the class, Zoho wiki allows the teacher to communicate with students and parents thus improving teacher efficiency. Gone will be the days of sending home a sign-up sheet with the student and waiting for a response from the parents only to have to call parents to change times to make all parents happy. You can post the schedule on the website and have parents see what is available and get the parents to sign up. Also you could assign parents special numbers for their students and post grades on the website so that parents can track how their students are doing. You could eve use the website, much like we do here, to submit homework assign it as well and not have to collect them and grade them in hard copy form. Simply take the assignment and run it through a grading program and submit the grade back, to easy! //Enhancement// Next Zoho wiki could contribute to enhancing the lecture and assignments. And the enhancement benefits go further than introducing students to the workings of the internet and its unlimited potential. These wikis allow you to put links to lecture resources or other helpful resources that would aid in explaining the topic further would be a huge help or even a video that you made to go along with homework assignment or test preparation assignment. Also you could a have an open chat forum where every Saturday night for an hour or two you are online in a chat room that you set up through a link on the site or on the actual site and answer questions that students might have or parents might have about homework that their kids are working on.
 * __Advantages:__**

The great thing about Zoho Wiki is that it is basic and effective, allowing for teachers of all grade levels to use it as a classroom communication tool. In both an elementary classroom and a secondary classroom, a teacher could use Zoho Wiki to post assignements, due dates, and resources. The Zoho Wiki would differ between the two levels, however, when it comes to the types of assignments, difficulty of resources, and maturity and writing levels. In an elementary classroom, this tool could be used as an introduction to technology, providing a space that students can explore on their own and with the help of their parents. It could be a way for elemenatary students to feel involved and responsible for their own learning. In a secondary classroom, however, this tool could be used as a discussion forum for students and teachers. Along with the assignment lists, due dates, and resources, students could have a place to ask questions of not only their teacher, but of their peers as well. This would help to develop collaboration skills, especially when a group project is involved.
 * __What would it look like to use the tool?__**


 * __Disadvantages:__**

Students who don’t have regular or reliable internet access at home would be at a disadvantage compared to other students because they wouldn’t be able to receive online postings, notes, syllabi, or whatever else their teacher uses this site for.

A site used either with communication among parents or with students eliminates one on one interaction and communication. Also, communication may not be as clear if only a website is being used.

A site like this may be too advanced for early elementary students (K-2/3 grade). They would probably need the help of their parents to navigate through the site and utilize it fully.

At the risk of not being creative, the W200 wiki is a perfect example of what a wiki could potentially be. We do many things with the wiki from taking attendance to submitting assignments to posting links. And with the smaller class size of a elementary or high school class, there is more specialization that can take place and more one-to-many or one-to-one communication that can take place through the website.
 * //Example://**

[|Using Zoho Wiki - A Real World example] [|public portals created by users in Zoho Wiki]
 * __Tutorials and Examples:__**

[|Eight ways to us Wikis]
 * __Zoho Wiki in the Classroom: How to use it__**


 * Zoho Wiki in the news**
 * [|New York Times article] praises Zoho Wiki for its easy-to-use word processor.