Wikis: Powerful, Collaborative, Online Social Tools
DSL21: Design, Systems & LearningLIU Conference
July 11 & 12, 2011
Corinne Carriero, Ellen Robertson, facilitators
“Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge”. ~Jimmy Wales,
Wikipedia founder, 2004
Wiki Defined
Collaboratively edited body of workCreated by Ward Cunningham in 1995 as an easy publishing toolShort form of “wiki-wiki”, Hawaiian for “quick” bus systemPart of Web 2.0 (Read/Write Web) toolkit
BlogsRss feedsAggregatorsSocial bookmarkingPhoto publishing sitesPodcasting and vodcasting
Wiki Defined (cont’)
created in real time
organic and democratic in nature
everyone is “editor in chief”
considered “open source” – no one owns it
everyone together is smarter than everyone alone
everyone can:add
fix
erase
start
Power of Wikis
2004 tsunami that killed 175, 000 people:
1st post appeared 9 hours later as a beginning wiki24 hrs later---edited 400 times with photos, charts, lists of dead48 hrs later---edited 1,200 times and included video of wave itselfForget CNN—this was the most comprehensive info of all media
Types of Wikis
Wikitextbooks
Wikirecipes
Wikitravel
Wiktionary
Wikinews
Wikiquotes
Classroom curriculum wikispaces
A Wiki of wiki authoring siteshttp://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?SiteList
Basic Wiki components
Editable pages
Ability to upload documents
Ability to link
Ability to invite editors
History of changes
Revert back tool
Wiki’s in education
teaches students collaborative construction of knowledgeteaches negotiation skillsteaches publication skillsteaches students how to create communitycan be used solely to collect and disseminate school informationcan be used as an articulation toolcan be used to amass and publish tailor made resourcesauthentic, purposeful workedited body of work becomes reference tool for others
Why Bring It To The Classroom?
Great motivator for students
Easy to monitor
Allows for creativity and innovation
Encourages participation of all students
Promotes communication between students, teachers, and parents
A new, interesting way to learn
Educational Uses of WIkis
Simple websites
Peer-reviewed projects
Group projects
Manage school and classroom documents
Classroom discussion and debate
Teacher collaboration
Post classroom assignments
Collaborate with an international classroom
What Could YOU Use a Wiki For?
Create a classroom websiteCreate a class newspaper by wikiCreate a book by wiki (group authoring)Course reviewHave students use a wiki space to plan the details of a field trip to make it as educationally fulfilling as possibleLet students manage an Earth Day project—tasks, goals, responsibilities, and so on. Be sure to alert the community so anyone can join in.
What Could YOU Use a Wiki For?
Collaborate on an international unit, or even a spring e-pal exchange using a themed wiki.
Project development with peer review
Track a group project
Presentations
Wikipedia: also know as “Whackypedia?
Who is an authority?
High profile errors
“Cream” rises to the top or curdles
Collaborative efforts of the group determine veracity
Challenges of Wiki Use in Education
Some wikis are questionable resources for research
Anonymous authors
Student-posted information may be modified/spammed
Vandalism
Filtering
Free Wiki sites (special considerations for educators)
wikispaces.compbwiki.comjotspot.com (has wysiwig editor)seedwiki.comwikicities.comwebnote (like eBoard) http://www.aypwip.org/webnoteLots more wiki tools: http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?SiteListWikialong.org (firefox plug-in lets you leave notes on ANY website)
Please grant me the serenity to accept the pages I cannot edit,
The courage to edit the pages I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
The Wiki Prayer
Wikispaces for TeachersA Guide to Using Them in Your Classroom
What is a Wiki?
• A webpage with an Edit button• Easy to use• Perfect for collaborative learning
Wiki Terms
Page 1 Page 2
Space 1
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3
Space 2
Page 1 Page 2
Space 3
User Account
• User Account: Your identity on Wikispaces, consisting of
username, password, and e-mail address• Space: A wiki on which you can collaborate• Page: Each space can consist of multiple pages
Wiki Terms Continued
Wikispaces has different permissions settings for your space
Public: Anyone can view or edit your Wikispace
Protected: Anyone can view your space but only members can edit
Private: Only members can view or edit your space
Editing Your Wiki
Click the Edit This Page button at the top of your wiki.
Write the text you would like on your page.
You can format it with bold, underline, italics, headings, and more.
Once you are done editing, click Save.
Adding Links on Your WikiClick Edit This Page.
Highlight the text you would like to link and click on the earth icon in the toolbar.
Another window will appear allowing you to create a link to another page in your
space or another website.
Click Ok.
Adding Images to Your WikiClick Edit This Page.
Click the icon that looks like a tree.
Browse your computer for the image you would like and click Open.
Upload the chosen picture or file.
Place your cursor where you would like the image on the page.
Double click the image or file to place it on the page.
Adding Media to Your WikiClick Edit This Page.
Go to the icon of the TV in the toolbar.
Choose the type of object you’d like to embed.
Follow the instructions for embedding each object.
Click Save.
Activity
Let’s teach each other about various places of interest on Long Island to visit
Take the next 30 minutes to Add some information text
add links
and add an image or a video clip