Creating a Classroom Wikispace

This tutorial will guide you through steps to create a classroom Wikispace. It would be beneficial to go through the entire lesson once before creating your own Wikispace to get a feel for what Wikispaces are their benefits to educators.

ET502Jennifer BouskaTiffany KileJulie Stout

What is a Wikispace?Wikispaces are groups of web pages that

can be edited by anyone. As the creator, you can set your permissions to allow certain people to view and edit your page.

“Wikis are simple web pages that groups, friends, and families can edit together. Starting your wiki at Wikispaces is fast, free, and easy.” – www.wikispaces.com

Where can I locate Wikispaces?Wikispaces can be located at the internet

address below.

◦www.wikispaces.com

What is a Wiki page?A Wiki page is a page within a self created

Wikispace.

What would I use a Wiki for?Collaborative writingDiscussionBrainstormingClassroom Information/NewslettersNetworking

What does a Wiki look like?Here are some educational Wikis you can

explore before you begin.

◦www.kile4.wikispaces.com◦www.jen283.wikispaces.com◦www.daviesteach.wikispaces.com◦www.cm4eric.wikispaces.com

What do I need?A computer with internet accessBasic knowledge of PowerPoint and using

the internet45 minutes of dedicated work time to

complete this lesson

Tasks Addressed

1. Getting Started2. Creating a Wikispace3. Personalizing and Editing4. Add a Page5. Start a Discussion

Go On Stop and Try

Getting StartedOpen your internet and type the Wikispaces

address in the address bar. www.wikispaces.com

Select and enter your own username and password. ◦Example:

username -ET502 email – ******@bears.unco.edu password - *******

Then click “Get Started.”

Creating a Wiki Page◦Click “Create a New Wiki.”

◦Choose your Wiki Name and enter it into the box to the right of “Wiki Name.” Choose a name between 3 and 32 characters long.

A wiki name must be at least 3 characters long. A wiki name can contain only letters, numbers, and hyphens, without any

spaces, and it cannot start with a hyphen. A wiki name cannot be blank.

Our lesson Wiki name – ET502

◦ Select a “Public”, “Protected”, or a “Private” Wiki type. If you want others to be able to edit and view your Wiki without being

members, choose a “Public” Wiki. A “Protected” Wiki can be viewed by anyone, but only edited by Wiki

members. A “Private” Wiki is not free and can only be viewed and edited by Wiki

members.

◦ Select the “Wiki Type.” Wiki Type For teachers there is a “K-12” option and a “Higher Education”

option. For this tutorial, we are selecting “Higher Education.” K-12 Higher education Business Personal Non-profit Government Other I prefer not to answer

Click the “Create” button.

Invite members to your Wiki◦Go to “Manage Wiki”

People Invite people Add in the email addresses of all the people that need to be

a part of this wiki page and send. You can find and add new members by going to Manage

wiki, members. If you created a “Public” Wiki you do not need to invite

members since the page is meant to be viewed and edited by outside members.

Eliminating Advertisements◦Go to “Manage Wiki”

Settings Click on “Subscriptions” Scroll to the bottom Select free educator upgrade Confirm you are using the Wiki for educational

purposes Submit

◦The advertisements will be removed within a few days!

EditingPersonalizing your Wiki

◦Wikispaces will provide you with a message to assist in this process.

Editing your page◦ If you are not at the home page, click ”Home”◦Click on the “Edit” button on the upper right

side of your screen to begin editing your Wiki page

Delete preset text◦ Clear out the text that comes with your new Wiki. You

do this with the “backspace” or “delete” key on your computer’s keyboard. This is similar to any text deletion on the computer.

Begin adding your own text

Start by typing your “Welcome Message” to students, parents, or peers

When finished, press “save.”

To change font formatting on your page, highlight the text and click on the “T-color pallet.” ◦This function allows you to change “text

color”, “text alignment”, “vertical position”, “background color”, and adding “strike through.”

To change the color, click the “Text Color” box.

Click on your new color and then “Apply Styles.”

Click the “Save” button after making any changes.

To insert a link to an outside webpage◦Click “External Link”

Type in the words you would like to be hyperlinked into “Link Text” box

Type the address in the address box If you would like the linked website to appear in a new

window, check the “New Window” box Click “Add Link” Click “Save”

Insert images◦You must first be sure that you have a picture

file saved on your computer. You can

Use an existing picture file or photo Save a picture from a website or document to your

computer To save, find a picture you would like and right click on it Then select “save image as” and choose the location to

store your image

◦You are now ready to upload your image to your wiki!

Insert images or file◦Click upload files to find a file currently on the

computer◦Then click file to upload

Embed file Post it directly to the page

Link to file Create a link to take the worker directly to a site.

Embed Widget – insert outside movie (example: Teacher Tube or You Tube)◦Click on the “widget” button◦Choose a Wikispaces widget or a category

provided to you◦Click “save”

Inserting and manipulating a table Click insert “table” Define your table

Number of columns Number of rows

Insert table Click “save”

To change table size after creating, click on the table and a small table will appear.

Click on small table and a menu will allow you to choose what you want to change. Click “save”

To re-align the table within the Wikipage, click on the table and a small table will appear.

Click on the small table and a menu will allow you to align your table at the right, left or center of the page Click “save”

◦Preview Before saving any work, you can preview what changes

you made. This will allow you to decide to keep your work or discard it.

◦Cancel This button will cancel any changes you have made

prior to saving. It will take you back to the last page that you saved.

◦Save One of the most important buttons to push. Be sure to

save any work that has been done unless you want to lose it.

Changing the Color or Theme of your Wiki◦Go to “Manage Wiki”◦Click on “Look and Feel”

Click on “Themes and Colors” Choose your theme from the samples Choose a color scheme Click “Preview” to view the layout on the screen You can choose:

“Preview” “Preview and Customize”

Change the colors to your exact specifications. “Apply”

Remember to click “Save” to keep your choice

Add a PageClick “New Page”

◦Give your page a name ◦Click “Create”◦Edit your new page the same way you did

your initial page.◦Your new page will be listed on a sidebar of

your Wiki page. Click on the new page name to view the page.

◦To insert a link to another page in your Wiki Click “Link”

Insert the name of the page that you want linked to this page. Give it a name: Link Text Attach it to a current page within the Wiki Click “Add Link” Click “Save”

Start a DiscussionClick on the discussion tab at the top of

your Wiki page.◦Select “New Post”

Name a subject and type in your discussion topic. If you would like email reminders when discussions

happen, click on monitor this topic. Click “Post”

◦Click on discussion subject name to reply to the post.

◦Type in your reply and click “Post.” ◦The moderator for the discussion will receive

an email saying you replied.

Do you know how to create a Wiki?

Under “Manage Wiki,” which button do you press to change the look of your Wikispace?

a) Content Managerb) Badgesc) Look and Feeld) Space Usage

Answer: c) Look and Feel

Under “Edit,” which button do you press to change font formatting such as color and size?

Answer: a) T-color pallet

True or false, once I begin to edit, I cannot go back.

Answer: False, by pressing cancel, theWiki will go back to the previouslysaved choices.

Under “Edit,” which button do you press to align text?

Answer: d) T-color pallet

Which button do you press to add a page?

a) Templatesb) New Pagec) Tagsd) Exports

Answer: b) New Page

Under “Discussion,” you can post your discussion question by…

a) Clicking on “Search Posts”b) Entering your question into the blank

boxc) Clicking “+ New Posts”d) Double clicking the “Discussion” button

again

Answer: c) Clicking “+ New Post”

Under “Edit,” which button do you press to add a picture to your page?

a) Widgetb) Linkc) Filed) Table

Answer: c) File

True or False, the discussion button can be found along the top of the home page.

Answer: True, the discussion button isBetween “Page” and “History” tabs at the

top of the Wiki.

Under “Edit,” which button do you press to add a video to your page?

a) Videob) Previewc) Widgetd) Movie

Answer: c) Widget

Under “Manage Wiki,” which button do you press to change protections so that only certain people can view your page?

a) Permissionsb) Content Managerc) Wiki Infod) User Creator

Answer: a) Permissions

True or false, I can upload large files to share with others.

Answer: True, the Wiki page is capableof very large files.

True or false, I am the only person who can edit my pages.

Answer: False, depending on thepermission level that the Wiki is set at,you can determine who can edit mypages.

Under “Manage Wiki,” which button do you press to eliminate the advertisements?

a) Membersb) Notificationsc) Wiki Statisticsd) Subscription

Answer: d) Subscription

True or false, Wikis are unsafe because anyone can edit them at any time.

Answer: False, a Wiki can be set atdifferent levels of permissions to allowfor collaboration on many differentlevels.

Use these videos to refresh your memory.

You are now ready to utilize your Wikispace!