The Wide World Of Wikis

The Wide World of Wikis Benjamin Curran University Prep Academy November 1, 2007 http://upa.curran.googlepages.com http://mrcurran.pbwiki.com

Presentation Outline
Wiki FAQ
Teacher Uses
Classroom Uses
Wiki How-To
Web 2.0 Can Work for You

Part One: Wiki FAQ

Q: What is a wiki?
A wiki is a website that ANYONE with access can create and edit.
No HTML knowledge required
Access it from anywhere
No IT needed
In most cases completely free
Works on old/slow computers
YOU CAN HAVE ONE UP AND RUNNING IN FIVE MINUTES!!!

Q: What’s up with the name?
From the Hawaiian word for quick: wiki-wiki

Q: How come I’ve never heard of wikis before? Oh, but you have…

wikipedia.org

wikitravel.org

wikihow.com

wikianswers.com

wikiquote.org

Q: Ben, this is all fairly interesting, but you still haven’t answered this important question: WHY WIKI???

Reason #1: It makes life easier. Work smarter, not harder.

Scenario: Life Before Wikis Your group project is due this week. You and your colleagues have each worked hard on your separate parts. But how will you put it all together into one final product???

E-MAIL E-MAIL E-MAIL E-MAIL E-MAIL E-MAIL E-MAIL E-MAIL

Scenario Two: Life With Wiki With that same project, team members can post their individual work to a wiki, edit it together, and share the work of creating the final product

WIKI Source: blogswikisandmore.pbwiki.com

Reason Two: Which century are you preparing your students for?

That one???

Or this one???

This ain’t your father’s Oldsmobile World Wide Web. 20 th Century = Web 1.0 21 st Century = Web 2.0

Buzz-word Alert!!!
Wikis are a part of this “new” web…
What is it???

Web 1.0
The “old” web
Read-Only
Published content
The superhighway runs only one way
Dominated by search engines & e-commerce

Web 2.0
User generated content
Two-way flow of information
“ Participatory Web”
Wikis = Web 2.0

Reason #3: What kind of learners do you want to grow?

If you want learners that can…
Collaborate
Synthesize
Create
Design
Cooperate
Visualize
Use metacognition
And much more!!!
… then wikis are for YOU!

Time for questions…

Part Two: Teacher Uses

Easy-to-make Class Website
Assignments and Projects
Classroom Calendar
Photographs
Newsletters & Parent Communication
Links for Parents and Students

Collaboration with Colleagues
Share ideas & info
Discuss best practices
Plan trips and events

Part Three: Classroom Uses

Group Projects
Anything where parts / roles are assigned
Assignments requiring data gathering
Group research work

Example #1: Group Research
Your group is researching Michigan.
You must write a research paper together.
Each member is assigned a region.
Group members can complete research independently, then post their portion of the project to the team’s wiki page.

Example #2: Wikibooks
This month’s social studies unit is “The Civil War.”
Each member of the class can research a different figure or battle and post that info to the wiki, creating a WIKIBOOK.

Example #3: Long Distance Collaboration
Your class and classes at four other schools around the country want to track meteorological data in their region.
Each class posts their data to a spreadsheet on the wiki, making the data easy to analyze and compare.

Online Storytelling Promote creativity and collaboration by creating online stories, complete with images and/or illustrations.

Example: Choose Your Own Adventure Source: http://terrythetennisball.wikispaces.com/

Classroom Discussion Board
Respond to teacher’s question
Respond to each other
Great for Literature Circles or Literature response

Online Glossaries & Study Guides
Each student assigned a concept or vocabulary words to explain
Students post explanations to the class wiki
The result? A collaborative study guide

Study Guide Example Source: http://studyingsocietiesatjhk.pbwiki.com/

Webliographies
Students & Teachers post links for themselves and others
Source: http://gps7socialstudies.pbwiki.com/

E-portfolios
Showcase student work from on and off the wiki
Source: http://westwood.wikispaces.com/

Other Uses
Writing Practice
Weekly Edits
Weekly Writing Prompt

Part Four: Wiki How-To

Wiki Farms
Pbwiki.com
Wikispaces.com
Wetpaint.com
Atwiki.com
Stickipad.com

My Wiki Farm of Choice:

4 Steps to a PBWiki
Give your wiki a name
Give your wiki a password
Public or Private?
Create your FrontPage

Editing your Wiki
There are two buttons you must never forget when editing your wiki…

Edit page

Which gives you the Point-and-Click Editor…

And the Save button… Without it, your changes won’t be made!!!

Have no fear…
If you can use Microsoft Word, you can edit a PBWiki page!

Other important PBWiki Buttons…

Add a page to your wiki…

Images

Links Just highlight the text that you want to become a link (either to a page on your wiki or to an outside URL) and click this button.

Plug-Ins…

PBWiki Plug-Ins
Spreadsheets
Photo Slideshows
YouTube Videos
Chat room
Voice chat
And more!

Safety & Security
Password protection
Email notifications
Track edits with the “Recent Activity” tab
Restore option
“LOCK” any page

The main drawback / objection…
When do you find the time to do all this???

Part Five: Web 2.0 Tools to Use

Social Bookmarking
Save bookmarks from any computer
Search popular sites bookmarked by other users

My Favorite: del.icio.us

Blogs
Great for one-to-many communication and for student or teacher reflection.

Podcasting
Audio files for download
One time download or subscription
Students can create & upload to blog or wiki

A Great Podcasting Resource: EPNWeb.org

Video Sharing—Beyond YouTube

Last chance…

Resources
http://mrcurran.pbwiki.com
http://del.icio.us/bcurran/wikis
[email_address]

The Wide World Of Wikis

by bcurran

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