Thing+Seven


 * Thing Seven**


 * ** Introduction **

A wiki is a great tool for delivering instructional content on the web. You can edit the pages from anywhere, right in your web browser, without a lot of technical knowledge. It's free, and offers online storage space to upload pictures and files. Permission or help from a tech person is not required to get started. You can easily re-organize the content and add new pages with a few clicks. You can attach files, add pictures and embed video, audio, slide shows and other media. You can invite others to help develop the content. If need be, everyone could all work on the wiki in their pajamas.

**What is a Wiki**? **Simply, a wiki is a website that anyone can edit easily using a regular web browser.** The first wiki was developed in 1995 by Ward Cunningham, who named his project after the Hawaiian word "wiki-wiki," meaning "quick." If you can use a word processor, copy and paste, and send an email attachment, you can create a wiki. A wiki site may be as basic as a single page containing information and links by one author, or as complex as Wikipedia, the collaborative web-based encyclopedia, containing over 9 million articles in 250 languages, written, edited and constantly updated by thousands of users. (We won't debate the merits of Wikipedia at this particular moment, but most educators will concede that it has some value as a ready reference tool, and also that it can be used as a means for teaching students to critically evaluate online information sources).


 * Wikis in under 4 minutes, from our friends at CommonCraft **: Video linked to Common Craft Site

**Every version of every page is saved** in the page History (anytime a user clicks **Save**), so it's easy to track changes and compare page versions. You can easily revert to an "old" page version if information is accidentally lost or changed in an unwanted way.
 * A Few Key Wiki Features ***


 *  The History stores user information along with page revisions, which allows you to easily track and evaluate user (read: //student//) contributions.


 *  A wiki's "permissions" may be set to **Public**, **Protected** or **Private.** **Public** - Anyone can view and edit the pages; **Protected** - Anyone can view the pages, but only approved members may edit **pages**; **Private** - Only approved members (who are logged in) can view or edit the pages.


 *  A wiki site includes the ability to //track page changes// via email or an RSS feed. That's how Wikipedia vandalism/errors are corrected so quickly!


 *  Most wikis include a Discussion feature for each page, allowing users to leave comments or discuss page contents.


 *  Wikis use a very simple coding language called "Wikitext" or "Wiki Markup" to format the text, links and other content on the pages. Most users don't need to know about that, because they can use the Visual Editor - Wikispaces - or the Point and Click mode - PBWorks - (looks like the formatting toolbar in Word) to format their pages.

** Why Wikis in Education? ** Wikis encourage //shared knowledge construction//, as they are often built and edited by many users at once. Teachers and students can use wikis for publishing, organizing, and sharing virtually any kind of information – professional, creative or academic. Wikis are democratic tools that, implemented effectively, can enable students to take responsibility for learning outcomes, plan and make decisions, work together, publish to an audience beyond the classroom and, perhaps most importantly, teach others.


 * At is simplest, a wiki is a //really easy// way to make a website.** At its most robust, a wiki is a collaborative, participatory, living, evolving content repository. (Of course, the quality of the content is what matters). Wikis can be used to support classroom learning, professional development, collaborative document writing, planning and resource-building. **Essentially, a wiki is anything you want it to be.**


 * In this 2-minute video from PBWorks (formerly PBWiki), teachers talk about classroom wiki use:**media type="youtube" key="9hSzJ0Hj_eo" height="390" width="640"

** Discovery Exercise **

Check out a few (say, 5-7) of the "educational" wikis below. Explore their organization and content. While there are essentially endless professional and administrative uses for wikis, I have slanted the selection towards those that include collaborative, student-produced content. As you look at the sites, consider how you might use a wiki to support student learning and/or your own teaching or professional goals. (I do not offer these up as the absolute best or most comprehensive wiki projects, just a variety of examples). **Before you get started, read the task below, so you know what your blog post will require.**
 *  ** 1001 Flat World Tales ** - An ongoing global writing workshop emphasizing peer editing and revision. The challenge: "You are a modern Scheherazade. You must tell an 'amazing' story that keeps your King interested in order to stay alive. You will have an advantage over Scheherezade, though: you can draft and revise your story until the 'King' -- three or four of your classmates -- judge your story is good enough to allow you to survive."


 *  ** Code Blue ** - Sixth grade students learning about the human body open their own online "medical clinic."


 * ** Digital Research Tools (DiRT) ** - This wiki collects information about tools and resources that can help scholars (particularly in the humanities and social sciences) conduct research more efficiently or creatively. Whether you need software to help you manage citations, author a multimedia work, or analyze texts, Digital Research Tools will help you find what you're looking for.
 *  ** Discovery Utopias ** - Middle school students answer "all of the great questions" of society (What is the role of government, What is the responsibility of the individual, etc.) and come to a collaborative consensus about what a society truly needs in order to reach for perfection and sustainability. Click the Discovery Utopias link at the bottom of the navigation area (just above the visitor map) to view the student projects.


 *  **Dr. Reich's Chemistry Wiki** - Wiki site providing resources to support high school chemistry course and to showcase student projects.


 *  ** FHS Wolves Den ** - Site to support eleventh grade English and U.S. History classes. Hub for class lectures, essays, novels, projects, links, learning applications, discussions, and more.


 *  ** Flat Classroom Project ** - 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. This is true 21st Century collaboration.


 *  ** Go West ** - Third graders share their learning about Westward Expansion along the Oregon Trail.


 *  ** Grazing for Digital Natives ** - Resources for educators about using new technologies in the classroom.


 *  ** Great Debate 2008 ** - Collaborative project that provides students in grades 8-12 with an opportunity to lead an exploration and discussion of issues and candidates surrounding the 2008 presidential election.


 *  ** Greetings from the World ** - A high school teacher in Croatia invites people from all over the world to share about their home countries using the Glogster "digital collage" tool. An ongoing, ever-growing collection of posts. Winner of the 2009 Edublog Award for Best Educational Wiki.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** HUMS3001: Censorship and Responsibility ** - a great example of collaborative scholarship by university students. Students develop content and teach each other as they study "theoretical approaches to free speech, liberalism, censorship, and responsibility and apply them to contemporary debates in journalism, media, art, literary studies and academia." I especially like their explanation of "wiki spirit."


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** Counting Book ** - Photos to show each number from 1 to 100. (Wetpaint now offers **ad-free** education wikis).


 * <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px; text-align: left;">** Kubler Reading ** - Fourth grade students organize their of study Natalie Babbit's Tuck Everlasting on a wiki.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** Math 12V Outcomes Portfolio **- Twelfth grade math students create an online review for the entire math curriculum.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** Primary Math ** - Primary students share their math learning with students around the world.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** Mr. Lindsay's Wiki ** - Sixth grade classroom wiki. Includes book reviews and creative works by students, as well as class information.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** Salute to Seuss ** - Elementary students celebrate Dr. Seuss by reading his books and creating an online presentation. Click **Student Gallery** to view the final projects.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** Schools in the Past ** - First graders interview parents and grandparents to find out how schools have changed.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** Thousands Project ** - Each month, Mr. Monson's fifth grade class posts a new question, hoping to receive 1000 responses from students and visitors from around the world.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** Turn Homeward, Hannalee ** - Fifth graders created a comprehensive study guide for this Civil War era historical novel.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** Welker's Wikinomics ** - Award-winning project supporting the teaching of AP Economics. Be sure to check out the **Discussion Forum**.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> ** Westwood Schools Computer Science ** - Classroom wiki for Vicki Davis ' (coolcatteacher) high school computer science courses.

** A Few Further Resources (provided for your reference) ** * TeachersFirst Wiki Walkthrough - Useful overview of basic wiki features and concepts, plus lots of ideas for classroom wiki projects in many subject areas, including a specific section for younger grades.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> EDUCAUSE: 7 Things You Should Know About Wikis (PDF) - Don't let the techno-speak in #3 scare you.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> Wiki Wisdom: Lessons for Educators (PDF) - Article from Digital Directions

** A Few Sites for Creating a Wiki (provided for your reference) ** In case you just can't wait to start your wiki, here are three good options, each of which offers Ad-Free, hosted wikis for K-12 Education. The features vary a bit, so you may want to investigate a bit before settling. One way to do that is to create a "regular" free wiki (ad-supported) to explore the features before asking for your educator site.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> **Wikispaces** **for Teachers** - @http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Verdana,Lucida,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 2px;"> **PBWorks for Educators** - @http://pbworks.com/content/edu+overview

**Learning Tasks**

Read Vicki Davis' blog post ** Wiki Wiki Teaching ** about her first experience using wikis in the classroom. Do you think there may be a wiki in your future? Write a blog post sharing your thoughts and observations about the educational wiki projects you have explored. Provide details/examples from at least **three wikis that you actually investigated** -- e.g. What did you notice about their organization, content, tools used, learning outcomes? What was missing? What could you do differently or better? In your post, please also share initial ideas you have for wiki use in classroom, professional or personal learning. ||
 * Task **: **Blog Post** - Topic: Wikis