Sticky Note Wiki

A research tool used to model online Wikis. The phrase "Sticky Note Wiki" was coined by Craig Coleman, a media specialist at Mundy's Mill Middle School located in Jonesboro, Georgia, U.S.A. When faced with the challenge of convincing students that wikis should be used with caution when conducting research.

The tools needed to use this strategy include a research topic, sticky notes, large paper, and pencils.

The basic steps of the process include:

Step 1: Students conduct research individually and write facts on sticky notes. They may include the source and their name.

Step 2: Students visit the large paper throughout the lesson to add their facts; identify and remove false statements; and reorganize the information. Discuss facts as students post.

Step 3: Ask students for the pros and cons of the activity to demonstrate why we should be cautious of online Wikis when researching. Use the finished poster as a teaching tool or display.

By working collaboratively on research using this process, they improve their understanding of how Wikis are created and updated.

Examples Used by Educators
Social Studies Research
Topic: Countries of the Middle East

Description: Students were assigned a country of the Middle East and researched fast facts, government, history, religion, economy, geography, and culture. Students kept their notes in a foldable that included a page for each topic. 2 to 3 students in each class were assigned the same country. When prompted, one student researching each country went to a poster board for the country, wrote one fact per sticky note, and added their sticky notes to the Sticky Note Wiki. Then, the second student updated the Sticky Note Wiki, and so on. Throughout the lesson, students added facts, removed incorrect information, and revised the information. Once the poster board had a number of facts, students were encouraged to categorize the facts and finalize the poster. The finished posters were displayed to show what the class learned about each country.

Language Arts
Topic: Literary Genres

Description: One poster for each literary genre was created that included the name of the genre and labels including: These are stories that..., The plot may include..., The setting is..., and The characters are... Each student was given 10 sticky notes and prompted to write a word or phrase about the genres that represent whay they knew about each genre. This idea relates to the "bacronym" for WIKI - "What I Know Is." As students added information to each poster, teachers asked questions, prompted students to focus on specific areas, and complimented exceptional information. Each poster had a trash page next to it to hold any incorrect statements that were added to posters. Once all posters were complete, they were presented to the class for review of each genre.

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