Wikis

=What are Wikis?=

Wikis are free writing spaces on web pages that can be edited or added to by anyone using only the internet. No knowledge of html is needed. Wikis have been described by the creator as “the simplest online database that could possibly work.” They are collaborations between all those who use them. Pages can be linked to each other easily. You have probably heard of and used Wikipedia before. It is the most popular and most used wiki.

A wiki is like a database for creating, browsing, and searching information. A wiki enables documents to be written collaboratively. Pages are edited and updated constantly, so information stays up to date. The new draft is always saved after an update.

= = =History of Wikis=

Ward Cunningham created the first wiki, called WikiWikiWeb, in 1995. Cunningham named it after a bus at the Honolulu International Airport called “Wiki Wiki.” The Hawaiian word for “quick” is “wiki.”

Cunningham was inspired by the HyperCard by Apple, which was a system that allowed users to create virtual “card stacks.” He expanded on the idea by letting people “comment on and change one another’s text.”

Wikipedia was founded in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger as a compliment to Nupedia. Wales today claims to be the sole founder and denies Sanger as a co-founder. Wikipedia is funded through the Wikimedia Foundation, and is operated through MediaWiki, a free, custom-made open source wiki software.

Wikipedia has approximately 8.2 million articles in 253 languages. The English language Wikipedia passed the 2,000,000 article mark recently on September 9th, 2007, roughly 15 times as large as the largest edition of Encyclopedia Britannica. Wikipedia has the same goal as traditional encyclopedias: to present knowledge.

=Trustworthiness=

Critics of Wiki Systems argue that Wikis could be tampered with and become unreliable. Many do not trust the content and consider the Wikis useless. However, incorrect content can be caught and corrected on the site by administrators. Users are controlled by the administration for what they can access and edit. You can cross-reference material found on the Wiki with other sources as well.

If you spot an error, you can edit the page to correct it. Log in is required by many sites to make edits on the Wiki pages. Users can be authenticated through this process in order to change or even sometimes to read the content.

=**How are Wikis Useful to Teachers?**=

At a professional level, teachers may use Wikis...
 * as a writing space
 * in collaboration
 * to debate topics
 * to discuss curricular and instructional innovations
 * to share resources
 * to share teaching ideas
 * to research articles and websites

In the classroom, there are many ways teachers can use Wikis with their students. Students can work together as a class on a wide range of projects. Wikis are a great forum for student discussions, brainstorming, sharing ideas and information, and creative writing. There are appropriate and useful ways for Wikis to be included in lesson plans for all subjects and grade levels.

=**Wiki Ideas for Elementary Teachers:**=

There are many websites that contain helpful ideas on how teachers can use Wikis in the classroom. Some types of ideas that can be found are:
 * A virtual library: listings and commentary on independent reading students have done throughout the year
 * collaborative book reviews or author studies
 * A Wiki “fan club” for you favorite author(s).
 * An elementary class “encyclopedia” on a special topic, such as explorers or state history – to be continued and added to each year!
 * A travel log from a field trip or a field trip that the class would have liked to take. __An example__: Our trip to the moon and what we saw.
 * Detailed and illustrated descriptions of scientific or governmental processes: how a bill becomes a law, how mountains form, etc.
 * Family Twaditionwiki- elementary students share their family’s ways of preparing Thanksgiving dinner or celebrating birthdays (anonymously, of course) and compare them to practices in other cultures they read and learn about.

A simple example of an actual Wiki used by first graders is http://room4-wiki.wikispaces.com/.

=**How to Use a Wiki**=


 * Creating a new Page**

To create a new page for your Wiki, first locate the side menu on the left side of the screen. There should be a list of three links: “”New Page”, “Recent Changes”, and “Manage Space”. Click the “New Page” link; it should bring you to a new page with a single text box at the top. Just enter in the name of your new page, making sure that you don’t include **//any spaces//.** If you must put a space between words in the title, put an underscore _ in place of a space. The "Recent Changes" link simply brings you to a page that lists all of the changes done since the creation of the account itself. The "Manage Space" link brings you to a page that lists information about the account, listing of pages, files that have been uploaded (I.e., Pictures), and settings for the account itself.


 * Editing a Page**

When editing a Wiki on Wikispaces, simply open up the page you wish to edit, and click on the button “Edit this Page” at the top. For those of you who like to use Microsoft Word for typing your information in first, then copying and pasting it into the text box, the font you need to use in Microsoft word is Arial, at size 10. The reason why you must preset this is because the editor for this particular Wiki doesn't automatically change the font, size and any other properties to its default setting. Also, another important note. When editing the Wiki, there can only be **one** person editing the page at one time. If there are more than two people editing the Wiki page at one time, the Wiki can develop errors, and previously saved text can be lost.

Once inside the wiki editor, you have the usual options of using “Bold”, “Italics”, and “Underline”. There is no option of using different fonts; you only have four different format settings, “Heading 1”, “Heading 2”, “Heading 3”, and “Normal”. Beside the format settings, you have the option to use ordered lists using numbers, or using bullet style lists. Beside the bullet style list option, there is the button that can add a single gray divider bar.

The following two buttons allow you to hot-link text, add in a web address, and remove a link. When you click the first linking button, a new window will pop up that will first list the text you highlighted and it gives you to option of linking to a page already created in Wikispaces, it gives you the option of creating a new page and simultaneously linking your newly created page at the same time. Finally, it gives you the third option of adding in a full web address.


 * Images and Files**

To use images in your Wiki, simply click the button with the small photo graphic on it. A new window will pop up, listing all of the files that are uploaded on the account itself. Below, it gives you the option if you would like to upload a file or image directly to the server itself, or to copy the link to the file and directly link it to the Wiki page. To ensure your image that your image will show, I recommend saving the file to your computer’s hard-drive, then uploading it directly to the Wiki itself, which is the first option.


 * Widgets**

The next button beside the Images and Files button is the option to use a “Widget”. A Widget is simply a way for you to embed a video from YouTube, a spreadsheet from Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and many more options. For example, say you want to embed a tutorial video from YouTube. Simply click the “Widgets” button and click the “Video” option. It will give you a list of different video websites that are compatible with Wikispaces. Click YouTube and follow the directions it lists to easily embed the video.

The next button beside the “Widgets” button is the option to use a Table. It is very similar to Microsoft Word, as it asks you how many rows and columns you wish to have in your table, then it will automatically create it for you. Once your desired table is created, you can customize its length and width accordingly. The second to last button in the row allows you to insert special characters into the text. For example, math symbols, the copyright symbol, letter accents and many more. The last button gives those who have knowledge of html code the chance to insert code for their Wiki. It is **recommended** that only the options listed in the menu be used for your Wiki.

Finally, after you are finished editing your Wiki, you can preview your work and click “Save”. This saves your work and //automatically publishes// it so **everyone** can see it the instant you save it.


 * Introduction to Wikispaces YouTube Video**

Here is a video done by an actual teacher, who used Wikispaces for his students.

media type="youtube" key="6NRbbskf3cA" width="425" height="350"

http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/wikiideas1.cfm http://writingwiki.org/default.aspx/WritingWiki/For%20Teachers%20New%20to%20Wikis.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki http://writingwiki.org/default.aspx/WritingWiki/ForTeachersNewtoWikis.html http://www.wikiweb.com/intro1.shtml
 * Sources:**

Our group started our Technology Innovation Group Mini Teach with a PowerPoint presentation: Our group passed out a handout on how to enter the class wiki: Our group contract:
 * __Presentation Documents:__**