How to get started with Wikis

Steps to starting with wikis

1. Think through authoring, collaborating, revising and editing. Three big decisions are:
   1. Who will author?
   2. Who will revise and edit?
   3. Who will read?
2. Prepare and deliver lessons as appropriate on online safety, personal information, ethics and netiquette
3. Post link to the wiki on your website
4. Set up teacher account with wikispaces.com (make sure to use the free for teachers offer)
5. Set up wiki home page (and other structure as appropriate)
6. Add students accounts to wiki
7. Continually monitor student writing

Wiki Resources

The following website can be used to promote educational use of wikis. Carefully select resources for teachers to explore.

How to Links

• Wikispaces in Education Tutorial slideshow
• Wikispaces Teacher Help – check this for free no add teacher site and how to get student accounts created

Pedagogical Considerations

• How Teachers Use Wikis
• Ideas for Using Wikis

Example Wikis

• Educational Wiki

What to do with a Wiki

Wiki is a web page designed to enable multiple users to accesses and contribute or modify content. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites.

What to do with a Wiki

Teacher writes the wiki, students read

• Create a website
• Share resources
• Post student work exemplars
• Post project resources

Students write and collaborate on the wiki

• Each student creates their own page to put their “stuff” on
• Groups of students share authorship
• Multiple students modify one page
• Take turns writing a story or poem
• Showcase exemplary work
• Students collaborate with other students to develop website on topic of interest

Wikis in the Classroom

Using Wikis in the Classroom by Vicki Davis with Adam Frey

Wiki is a webpage with an edit button.
plus
-easy
-history (see what has happened, old versions, and see what each kid did)
-access control (the collaboration you want) (wikispaces will set up anonymous accounts for teachers)

http://coolcatteacher.wikispaces.com – lots of help here

http://adamatnecc.wikispaces.com – the live generated wiki from session

let wikis be about facts, let blog be conversation with opinion and fact

tips
>double brackets makes new page [[ with title in..
>you can paste any widget in with insert media button (looks like youtube)
>work in small chunks, not a word processor,
>use the discussion tab
>show students right up front that the history will show exactly what each member posted
>allow students to control not only content but also structure

more help at http://www.k12onlineconference.org/?p=38

Her 2 big projects

http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com/

http://horizonproject.wikispaces.com/ – look for rubric and lessons etc here.