Wikis

=Wikis= What is a wiki? Click on this video entitled //Wikis in Plain English,// created by Lee LeFever and found on Teacher Tube, to see... media type="custom" key="4458287"

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Wiki as "A collaborative website whose content can be edited by anyone who has access to it." In Hawaiin wiki wiki means "quick". Wikis are easy to create and view and can be set up to allow anyone to add, edit and remove content. They are great for collaborative lesson plans/units. Wikipedia is the largest and most well known Wiki in the world. It is a free online encyclopedia that is built by its users. That is the good news and the bad news. If the pages in Wikipedia that you are reviewing are built and revised by experts in that topic you can find an amazing wealth of information. However since anyone can edit those pages, they can also be filled with inaccuracies. Since Wikipedia is an international phenomenon, you can search in multiple languages on Wikipedia. Find the Wikipedia home page at: [|http://www.wikipedia.org/.]

**Examples of Free Wikis for Education**

 * **Wikispaces** - This is one of the most popular. For a free membership and to start creating your own Wiki, go to: http://www.wikispaces.com/. For a PowerPoint presentation on what a Wikispace is and how to create one, go to: http://help.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/Help.Wikispaces.Teacher+Presentation.ppt.
 * **Jottit** - This is a quick and easy Wiki. For more information, go to: http://jottit.com/about.
 * **PBWiki** - According to their Web site, "PBwiki is the world's largest provider of hosted business and educational wikis. We host over 400,000 wikis, serve millions of users per month." For more information, go to: http://pbwiki.com/
 * **Wetpaint** - You can find another free for educators Wiki site at: []

**Creating a Free Teacher Wiki on Wikispaces.com**
If you want to create a free wiki for use in K-12 education, be sure to go to this Web site and click on the box that says, "I certify this wiki will be used for K-12 education":. []

**Ideas and Resources for Using Wikis in Education**
Check out Jane Cook's Delicious Wikis Bundle at [] for additional resources. Please add other resources for using Wikis (in alphabetical order): > The good folks at TeachersFirst have used their expertise to provide a clear, concise guide to Wikis in their Wiki Walk-Through. Just roll over and through their questions to unravel "the wonderful world of wikis" http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/
 * **3 Challenges to Wiki Use in Instruction** - Read an article on using Wikis for teaching and learning from THE Journal at [].
 * **7 Things You Should Know About Wikis** - Go to [] for an article from the Educause Learning Initiative for what Wikis are and why they are useful for education. **EduWiki** - Check out http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/ for some examples and tips as well as some teachers who might have some ideas for you.
 * **Eight Ways To Use School Wikis -** [|http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/tl_200908/#/32]
 * **Getting Tricky with Wikis** - Check out http://gettingtrickywithwikis.wikispaces.com/ for ideas and resources for customizing your Wikispace and tips for making it the most user friendly Wikispace possible.
 * **Help for Teachers** - To find help for techers when using Wikis, go to: http://www.wikispaces.com/help+Teachers. By the way, if you create a Wiki without knowing about the free education Wikispaces, you can click on Manage Space and then click on Subscriptions and email a request to Wikispaces to remove the advertising. It may take a day or two but they will do it. You just have to state that the site will be used for education only. Yahoo!!
 * **ITG Instructional Toolbox** - Wake Forest University maintains an instructional toolbox on Wikis for its faculty at [].
 * **Teaching Hacks Wiki** - [|Teaching Hacks] is a Wiki created by Quentin D'Souza about using Wikis in education.
 * **Think Outside the Blog** - [|Think Outside the Blog] is an article by Tim Stahmer published in //Tech Learning// about the power of Wikis for collaboration.
 * **Wiki-Centric Learning -** Learn how high school teachers use Wikis to create online collaborative learning environments by reading [|Wiki-Centric Learning], an article from T.H.E. Journal on 9/15/10.
 * **Wiki Help:** [|Wiki Help i]s a page with some tutorials on using Wikispaces.
 * **Wiki Ideas for the Classroom** - [|Wiki Walk-Through from TeachersFirst] Dec 7, 2006 3:16 pm
 * **Wiki Warranty** - Click on this link to go to a downloadable, customizable Word document from Teachers First: http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/issues.cfm. Even though your district has an Acceptable Use Policy, having your students develop and sign a Wiki Warranty warranties the content of their collaborative Wiki in the same way that companies provide warranties for their products.
 * **Wiki While You Work: An Introduction to Wikis in Education** - For some examples of how to use Wikis in education, go to: www.wikiwhileyouwork.wikispaces.com

**Wikis for Educators and Students**

 * **Book Trailers for Readers -** Click on this link to find a Wiki developed by a teacher librarian to help turn kids on to reading: http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/
 * **Classrooms for the Future**- Click on this link to find a Wiki that provides resources for all content areas. The Wiki also provides information about all technological tools. This link will direct you to the English page, but if you scroll to the bottom of the screen you can access information for other CFF sites and content areas. http://cffenglish.wikispaces.com/
 * **Collective Intelligence** - Click on this link to find a Wiki started by Liz Davis to gather information about how Web 2.0 has changed the life of teachers and students: http://collectiveintelligence.wikispaces.com/
 * **Cool Tools for Schools** - Click on this link to find an array of Web 2.0 tools available for teachers and students: http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/
 * **Connecticut: The Contribution State** - Click on this link to find a Wiki created by Donna Drasch with collaborative online and classroom learning activities where students explore the essential questions, "How have contributions of others in the past effected my life today? What is a community? What are our responsibilities as citizens in the community?": []
 * **EASTCONN Smartboard Users Group Wiki -** This space was created by Pam Skelly and Lynn Reedy as part of a users group. They have many great sites for different subject areas and grade levels. http://eastconnsmartusers.wikispaces.com/
 * Educational Wikis from A to Z - Click on this link for a Wiki with links to a variety of teachers' wikis arranged in alphabetical order by subject area: http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis
 * **Educational Origami -** Click on this link for a Wiki about 21st Century teaching and learning created by Andrew Churches, an educator from Aukland, New Zealand: http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/
 * **Spice It Up a Notch with Nutmeg** - Click on this link to go to a Wiki created by Rebecca Pilver and Donna Drasch, EASTCONN Staff Developers, which allows teachers and students to participate in a phenomenal collaborative online project based on Connecticut's own Nutmeg Books Award: []
 * **Using Blogs and Wikis in Education** - Click on this link to go to the Open Content Wiki with "the ultimate resource on using blogs and wikis in education": []