Wikis

**What is a Wiki**?

 * A wiki is a website that anyone can edit easily using a regular web browser.** If you can use a word processor, copy and paste, and send an email attachment, you can create a wiki. A wiki may include text, images, web links, file attachments, audio, video and other embedded media. Wiki software automatically records every edit and archives every saved version of a page, making it easy to track changes and "roll-back" to a former version of a page. Essentially, a wiki is anything you want it to be.

This excellent 3-minute video explains Wiki in clear, simple terms. Watch it.
 * Video: Wikis in Plain English** - http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

Why Wikis in Education?
Wikis are simple to create and easy to use. They encourage collaboration and shared knowledge construction. They are often built and edited by many users at once. Wikis are powerful, flexible containers for content. Teachers and students can use wikis for publishing, organizing, and sharing virtually any content – professional, creative or academic.

**Wiki in Education Resources**
> Great overview of basic wiki features plus lots of ideas for classroom wikis, including a specific section for younger grades. > Article from [|Cool Cat Teacher] about her first experience using wikis with students. > A collection of edcucational wiki resources and examples of Wikispaces uses in K-12. > Article by Stewart Mader of Brown University. [|Listen to and/or watch] his presentation on this topic.
 * **TeachersFirst Wiki Walkthrough** - http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/
 * **EDUCAUSE: 7 things you should know about... Wiki** - http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7004.pdf
 * **Wiki Wiki Teaching** - http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2005/12/wiki-wiki-teaching-art-of-using-wiki.html
 * **Wiki Wiki Teaching** - http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2005/12/wiki-wiki-teaching-art-of-using-wiki.html
 * **WetPaint Wikis in Education Wiki** - http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/
 * **Educational Wikis** - http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/
 * **[|Four Letter Words: how wiki and edit are making the Internet a better learning tool]**

**Create a Wiki**
> Ad-free wikis for educators offering 2 GB online storage, 10 MB file uploads, a WYSIWIG editor, support for images, file attachments and media such as podcasts/audio, video and other embeddable widgets and content. You must use the special teacher sign up to create your free educator wikispace: [|http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K>]**Video: WikiSpaces Tours** - http://www.wikispaces.com/site/tour > PBwiki now offers ad-free wikis for educators, allowing for public or private settings. > **Video: PBWiki: Helping Educators Educate** - http://www.blip.tv/file/160494/ > **Video: Learn How To PBWiki** - http://pbwiki.com/videos/
 * **Wikispaces** for Teachers - http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K
 * **PBWiki for Educators** - http://pbwiki.com/edu.pb
 * **WetPaint for Education** -[|http://www.wetpaint.com/category/Education>]

**General Wiki Examples**
> The biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. Over 7 million articles in over 200 languages, and still growing. > A collaborative writing project to build the world's largest how-to manual. > A listing of the largest wiki sites in the wikia community
 * **Wikipedia** - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
 * **Wikihow** - http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page
 * **Wikia: Big Wikis -** http://www.wikia.com/wiki/Big_wikis
 * **Harry Potter Wiki** - http://harrypotterwiki.org/wiki2/index.php/Main_Page

Educational Wiki Examples
Wesleyan third graders share their learning about Colonial America. > Award-winning global collaboration between high school students in U.S. and Bangladesh. Students studied and reported on each of the ten "flatteners" presented in Friedman's //[|The World is Flat],// using a variety of Web 2.0 tools. > **Video: Flat Classroom Project Review** - http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=a5a58079f0f3526c87c5 > Fifth grade reading students at Woodward Academy created a comprehensive study guide for a historical novel set in the Civil War era. > Sixth grade classroom wiki. Includes book reviews by students. > Canadian elementary school website. > Classroom wiki for Vicki Davis' (coolcatteacher) high school computer science courses. > Woodward Academy third graders share their learning about Westward Expansion along the Oregon Trail. > Independent School parents and some faculty create preliminary shared resources on the new Read/Write Web. > Collaborative research for VoiceThread presentations about Latin America countries -- first project for teacher to test process. > 7th and 8th graders from four countries dig deep to understand teen life globally. > Primary school art class website and online gallery.
 * **Colonial America- http://colonialthirdgrade.wikispaces.com/**
 * **Flat Classroom Project** - http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com/
 * **Turn Homeward, Hannalee** - http://wiki.woodward.edu/hannalee/doku.php
 * **Room 15 Wiki** - http://mrlindsay.pbwiki.com/
 * **21st Century Learning** - [|http://21stcenturylearning.wetpaint.com/>]Collaboration by small group of teachers seeking to explore and apply 21st Century Learning principles and tools.
 * **St. Francois Xavier Community School** - http://sfxschool.pbwiki.com/
 * **Westwood Schools Computer Science** - http://westwood.wikispaces.com
 * **Go West** - http://gowest.wikispaces.com
 * **SMUHSD Technology Support** - [|http://smuhsdtech.wetpaint.com]
 * **NISC Atlanta** - http://nisc.wikispaces.com
 * **7th Grade Geography** - http://worldgeopost07.wikispaces.com
 * **Teen Life Wiki** -[| http://teenlife.pbwiki.com/]
 * **Mr. Heming's Viual Art** - http://hemingart.wikispaces.com
 * [|Welker's Wikinomics] - Shanghai American School students creating an AP review text
 * [|Wikipedia] - a free online encyclopedia
 * [|eastwikkers] - lists 33 wikis that are worth visiting
 * Westwood Wiki - The online space for students of Westwood Schools to learn and collaborate.
 * Cullman Collaborative Books - Students at Cullman Middle School are collaborating to write several books.
 * Hillcrest High School Government Class - Students are creating political parties, campaigning, and holding elections online.
 * Fayetteville High School Wiki Help - Several teachers at this school have created wikis for their classes.
 * Mrs. Barnett's History and English Wikis (FHS) - An awesome way to organize your classroom!


 * Techniques**:
 * Adding pictures
 * Embedding multimedia
 * Creating tables
 * Modifying the template


 * Tools You Can Use on Your Wiki**
 * [|www.quizlet.com]
 * [|www.sharepoint.com]
 * [|www.slideshare.com]
 * [|www.teachertube.com]
 * [|www.animoto.com]
 * [|www.schooltube.com]
 * [|www.flickr.com]
 * [|www.picturetrail.com]
 * [|www.picasa.com]
 * [|www.yoyogames.com]
 * [|www.mygame.com]
 * [|www.polldaddy.com]