4+Wikis




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This wiki information is from Nigel Crawford - http://elearningnorthland.wikispaces.com/

How do I make a wiki?
(www.wikispaces.com) offer add free and private wikis to schools for no charge.

This link takes you to a step by step video guide showing how to set up a wikispace just like this one. [] Use the 'Choose a tour' drop down menu to learn more.


 * Wiki platforms:**



The Teachers First website describe wikis and blogs in more detail along with lots of ideas for how to use them in the classroom.



How do I use a wiki?
The Teachers First website has lots of ideas but in my experience the most successful classroom based wikis are those that have the greatest level of student participation. The least successful are those that are created by teachers as a repository for worksheets. 

The wikispaces help menu http://www.wikispaces.com/help index gives access to more detailed instructions.

Hints, tips and explanations
To create a new wiki for classroom use make sure that you go to [|www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers] This will give you access to ad free wikis and private wikispaces without paying.

**Wiki Name**
The wiki name becomes part of your web address and so needs to have no spaces (use underscore if you need to) and capital letter will be changed to lowercase.

**Wiki Permissions**
A public wiki can be viewed and edited by anyone - although you can lock pages to prevent changes. The advantage is that nobody needs a wikispaces username or password, so parents and others can view your class wiki.

A protected wiki can be viewed by everyone but only members of this wiki can make changes. This is useful when you want to see who has made changes or added content - their username will be listed on the 'History' page. When all users have individual usernames you will find it much easier to hold online discussions on your wiki.

A private wiki can only be viewed by its members so they are ideal for activities where you would like students to post personal details and photographs of themselves.

**Wiki Type**
Make sure that you select K-12 from the drop down menu.

**Undoing changes**
Don't worry about having your wiki open for others to make changes. If you do not like what they have done you can simply reset your wiki to how it looked at a previous date or time. Click on the History page to do this.

**Creating accounts for your students**
Students can create their own accounts at www.wikispaces.com or you can simply create a whole class set and issue everyone with a username and password. Once you have created your wiki click on the Manage Space button (top left of your page) and choose [|User Creator] Hint: If your students create their own usernames and then request permission to join your wiki make sure you tell them to include their real name in the request message. That way you can record usernames against real names in your mark book

Take control of the menu
The navigation bar on the left hand side of your wikipages is set to automatically create an alphabetical list of any pages that your create. At some stage you will find this frustrating and wish that you could organise it yourself. Its easy. Simply click on the 'edit navigation' link at the bottom of the menu and delete the include page list widget - the box that looks like this Now you will need to manually create your menu and the links to your pages. Don't panic, its easy. Use the button to make a hyperlink. If you type the name of an existing page and click on the link button it will automatically find the page - just click OK to make the link. If you type a page name that does not exist it will create the page for you.


 * weblinks**
 * http://gettingtrickywithwikis.wikispaces.com/ || Lenva Shearing has made this wiki with lots of ways to improve your wiki. ||
 * [|Interview: the state of wikis in education] || An interview with Stewart Mader exploring questions such as: What makes wikis so great? How are they used? How does a wiki compare to a blog? What are their different uses? ||
 * [|Wikis in Education: Teaching Students to Share Knowledge] || By Vivian Wagner Wikis are gaining popularity in an educational setting as a way to give students a hands-on learning tool. Providers see the demand and are creating wiki tools to help teachers make wider user of wikis in the classroom. ||