I have just returned from a panel discussion on wikis by faculty of the Arts and Sciences Department. I have been using wikis for three years in my classes, but I learned an enormous amount from these professors.
What I saw, was that there are probably at least 4 ways in which to use a wiki:
1. Use a wiki as a course management tool instead of something like Blackboard or Moodle. An excellent example is Miss Baker's Biology Class. This wiki won the the Edublogs award for Single Subject Teacher Wiki.
2. Use a wiki as a single topic collaborative project. A great example is Salks Periodic Table . This is another prize winner. It won the Edublogs award for single topic wiki.
3. Use the wiki as blog, a discussion board, or place where people can collaborate on a creative project. See the English Advertising Class wiki. It was nominated for an Edublogs award.
4. Educational Consultant's Informational Wiki: Clif's Wiki. It is a great collection of resources on education and technology.
Check out these wikis for ideas. They were all nominated for the Edublogs Awards - Best Educational Wiki category.
Happy wiki'ing
Friday, December 05, 2008
How to get started using a Wiki
It could not be easier.
First, why do want the wiki? What is the purpose? What will be the topic?
Second, do you want a public or private wiki? Do you want any one to read what is on there or do you want to restrict membership? Make sure you check your school's policy. If you are going to have personal information or photos of students on the wiki, you should probably go with a private wiki.
Third, you have to plan what you want on your wiki. All wikis give you the opportunity to create a variety of pages, just like on a website. So, decide what pages you are going to want initially. You can always add and delete pages as you go along, but any endeavor is easier with a little planning ahead.
Now you can investigate the many wikis available to you. Do not consider the order in which I give these as signifying preference. I googles "education wikis" and this is the list I got:
Wetpaint: http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/?t=anon
Free, ad-free wiki pages with easy to use templates, and education help.
PBWiki: http://pbwiki.com/academic.wiki
Free wikis dedicated to teachers. Good security features.
Wikispaces: http://www.wikispaces.com
Free to educators, easy to navigate, great technical support.
Wikidot: http://www.wikidot.com/learnmore:education
Free basic services, advanced services available for fee.
Google Sites: http://www.google.com/sites
Free, 10GB space, easy to use with other Google services.
Happy wiki-ing!
First, why do want the wiki? What is the purpose? What will be the topic?
Second, do you want a public or private wiki? Do you want any one to read what is on there or do you want to restrict membership? Make sure you check your school's policy. If you are going to have personal information or photos of students on the wiki, you should probably go with a private wiki.
Third, you have to plan what you want on your wiki. All wikis give you the opportunity to create a variety of pages, just like on a website. So, decide what pages you are going to want initially. You can always add and delete pages as you go along, but any endeavor is easier with a little planning ahead.
Now you can investigate the many wikis available to you. Do not consider the order in which I give these as signifying preference. I googles "education wikis" and this is the list I got:
Wetpaint: http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/?t=anon
Free, ad-free wiki pages with easy to use templates, and education help.
PBWiki: http://pbwiki.com/academic.wiki
Free wikis dedicated to teachers. Good security features.
Wikispaces: http://www.wikispaces.com
Free to educators, easy to navigate, great technical support.
Wikidot: http://www.wikidot.com/learnmore:education
Free basic services, advanced services available for fee.
Google Sites: http://www.google.com/sites
Free, 10GB space, easy to use with other Google services.
Happy wiki-ing!
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