Make+a++Wiki

=Wikis=

What are wikis?
Wikis were invented by Ward Cunningham in 1995, the term wiki was derived from the Hawaiian word for "quick," referring to how fast and easy it is to collaborate using one. Wikis are interactive webpages - any visitor can become a participant! Wikis are continuously “under revision.” They are living collaborations whose purpose is sharing the creative process and product by many. Wikis provide a history of edits. Each time the text is changed, a new version is saved. Anyone can go back later and see previous versions and also see who made the changes. This allows teachers and students to see the writing process in action. Permissions can also be set to limit participation. One famous example is Wiki-pedia, an online encyclopedia with no “author” but millions of contributors and editors.

>> When you want to work on a wiki page that you have already created, type in the URL of the wiki. You may need to Sign In. Next, navigate to the page you want to edit and click on the “Edit This Page” button. Be sure to hit the Save button when finished working on the wiki page! You can also click on the Save button while you are working on the page.//
 * K - 12 educators can sign up for an ad-free Wikispaces wiki [].
 * Fill out the information on the @http://wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers Choose a Wiki Name and make sure you check the box that it will be used for K-12 Education under Educational Use. The wiki name becomes part of the URL address so don’t use spaces or capital letters. Keep it simple. If the wiki name is HoustonMath, then the URL address is http://houstonmath.wikispaces.com.
 * Wiki Permissions - . Public Account allows the whole world to make edit your pages. Select Protected if you only want members of the wiki i.e. your students, to make edits. If protected, the whole world can see the wiki, but only members can edit. Select Private if you only want your class (and people you give the URL to) to be able to view the wiki.
 * Click Create and now you can see your new wiki. //Reminder – Be sure to write down the URL address of your wiki when you are creating it.

How can teachers use wikis to facilitate teaching and learning?

 * Provide a space for students to write and contribute
 * Debate course topics, including assigned readings
 * Share resources
 * Maintain a log or journal of work
 * To facilitate students' collaboration on documents and projects
 * Discuss curricular and instructional innovations
 * Support service learning projects (i.e. use a wiki to build a website about a challenge at their school or in their community)