Wikis



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http://www.wikispaces.com/about =Welcome to the World of Wikis= Wikis really exemplify the idea of everyday use of Web 2.0 tools. Teachers can create a web space that constantly evolves into an informative and ever-changing educational resource, with contributions from students and/or other teachers working together across space and time. WikiSpaces is an easy place for teachers to start their own wiki sites. It's designed to provide all of the benefits of wikis while being very simple to use for non-technical users. I am not whetted to your use of wikispaces (I love IT!), so if you prefer another wiki tool such as PBwiki, feel free to use it. However, I will be providing directions for wikispaces. ~Lisa Hervey

Learning Objectives

 * Sign up for and explore the features of a wiki.
 * Design and construct a Wiki to support learner outcomes in an educational setting.

=**STEP 1**:WHAT is Wiki and HOW can I use it in my classroom?= Wikis? Really?

Let's explore a WIKI Overview
 * Examples of Wikis being used by Cary Academy by Teachers and Students
 * Wiki as a Response Journal
 * [|Microbiowiki]

Wikis are an incredibly flexible tool. Here are some more basic ideas:
 * create in online text for your classroom
 * have your students use a wiki to publish information about a topic that they are investigating
 * create an online presence for your school
 * create digital portfolios for students and teachers
 * create collaboration opportunities between classes across the school and across the world

Turn to a partner and share a possible idea for your own classroom wiki.

=**STEP 2**: Let's Sign Up!=



Create a free EDUCATOR* account at http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers
 * Do try to get some kind of K-12 looking content on your wikispace ASAP, so that your educator account will get approved.**

=**STEP 3**: Let's Manage!= An overview and modeling of the management system.

Change your template, color or upload an logo.

=**STEP 4**: Let's WYSIWYG!= What is a WYSIWYG? Overview and modeling of WYSIWYG Write something on your HOME page. Change the color, font, etc.

=**STEP 5**: Let's Upload a Document or Image= Overview of process: Know where your stuff IS! Overview and modeling of loading documents, image file, and image URL. Upload a document, image (file or URL) to your HOME page. (If you don't have a document, open word and write a sentence, save on desktop)

=**STEP 6**: Let's Create Pages!=

Overview and modeling of making pages within a Wiki. Create a new page on your Wiki.

=**STEP 7**: Let's Link!= Overview and modeling of of linking to websites and internal wiki pages. Add website link to your HOME page and create a link from your HOME page to the other wiki page that your created earlier.

=Step 8: Ground Rules and History= Review possible Ground Rules and how to protect student work.

=Step 9: Bonus!Video and Widgets= If you are interested in how to manage Video and Widgets, watch this screen capture video! media type="youtube" key="7r3pkWDYdCA" height="344" width="425"

=Resources= Watch this Video for review on what you have learned today about working with wikispaces (use drop down menu in upper right to navigate to other tutorials about wikispaces).

Lamb, B.(2004). //EDUCAUSE Review 39// (5), 36-48.

Teaching Thinking and Technology: Wikis in Education This is an extensive list of sites that examine the use of wikis in education**.** Explore some more examples of how wikis are currently being used for educational purposes: > This project eplaces the "authentic" publishing of the 20th century classroom--hallways, newsletters, literary journals, etc--with authentic publishing in the //1001 Flat World Tales "blook":// a potentially endliess series of stories from students around the world, inter-linked on individual student blogs. > This wiki is being created by students attending Arapahoe High School who are currently reading Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. They are using it to brainstorm project ideas and eventually propose a plan to give back to their community so that the world doesn't lose individualism and end up like the world described by Huxley in the book. > Following a WebQuest model, this project asks students to create a branching simulation about a family in the Holocaust. They have to come up with realistic decision points, describe the pros and cons, address the consequences of each decision, and create a narrative that reflects their research on the Holocaust.
 * Thousand and One Flat World Tales Project__
 * Pay It Forward Wiki
 * Holocaust Wiki Project

//Used with permission from Lisa Hervey//