Wikispaces for TeachersA Guide to Using a Wiki in Your Classroom

Presented by Kim Rycroft and Teresa HarrisonLearning Application Support Specialists

Business & Learning Technologies

Workshop Objectives

This workshop will:

● Give you an understanding of what wikis are and how they work in the context of K-12 education

● Provide you with an opportunity to create and edit your own wiki through guided instruction

Our Agenda

● Introduction● A look at the OCDSB wiki● What’s a wiki?● Exploring others’ wikis

● Working with your own wiki● Creating teacher accounts● Permissions● Add content and editing● Customizing your wiki and managing your wikispaces account

● Using wikis in the classroom● Tips and Ideas

The OCDSB Wiki● Houses many of our workshop resources

● Organized by workshop topic

● To access it:● Open Internet Explorer● Click Teacher Resources on the splash page● Scroll down to the OCDSB Wiki● Take a few minutes to explore

What’s a Wiki?● A website that allows you to easily create and edit

web pages

● What differentiates wikis from other websites?● Collaboration (Multiple people can contribute to the same

website)● Access (When you are the owner of a wiki, you can

decide who is able to view and edit your pages

● Wikis in plain english● http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

Wiki Trivia

● Wiki is a Hawaiian term that means ________.

● The first wiki was developed in ______.

● The largest and most famous wiki is ___________.

“fast”

Wikipedia

1994

a “perpetual work in progress”

236 languages

2.6 million english articles

684 million visitors

10 million articles

Our Wiki of Choice

● We have chosen wikispaces ● Compatible with our version of Internet Explorer● No advertising to distract from your content (with the educational

account)

Examples of Wikis…

● http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com● Go to “Examples of Educational Wikis”

● Then click on any of the listed links to view that wiki

Wikispaces Facts

● Over 135,000 K-12 teachers have wikis on Wikispaces

● Educators can sign up for free

● Wiki pages are created using a built-in visual editor resembling that of a word-processor

● You can set your own permissions…

Permission Levels

● Permissions determine who can see and edit your wiki

● You can choose from the following options:● Public: Anyone can view or edit your wiki

● Protected: Anyone can view your wiki but only members can edit

● Private: Only members can view or edit your wiki

Setting up a Teacher Account

● Called the PlusPlan for K to12● Free to sign up● No advertisements● Must be for educational use

● Go to http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers to apply

Signing Up on Wikispaces

● Go to: http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers

Your username is visible to others.

The Wiki Name forms your wiki address: http://gsmith-avalonps.wikispaces.com

Determine who can see and edit your wiki.

Used to recover forgotten password.

Check off this box for the ad-free account.

After You Join…

● Close “Getting Started With Your Wiki” page:

Hands-On: Editing Your Wiki

● Let’s work with our new wikispace by:● Editing the first page of the wiki● Creating a new page● Typing in some content● Inserting an image● Adding a link to a website

Give it Some Thought…

● Based on the examples you have seen, how could you see yourself using a wiki with your students?

In the Classroom…Ideas for new wiki users

● Post daily homework

● Share solutions to homework (e.g. math problems)

● Share educational resources and websites

● Post assignments, project outlines and other class work

● Display exemplary student work

In the ClassroomIdeas for wiki collaboration

● Develop an “FAQ” on a current topic of study

● Participate in debates around a particular issue

● Discuss and respond to others’ thoughts about a novel

● Write a collaborative study guide for an upcoming exam

Other Ideas for Using a Wiki

● http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/

Wikispaces Size Restrictions

● Maximum file size that can be uploaded: 20 MB● Maximum wiki size: 2 GB

* With the educator wiki account