Creating Wikis

Sarah Boughey, Catherine Clarke, and Aaron Tyson

What are Wikis?

A website that allows collaborative editing of its content and structure by
its users

Composing, Discussing, Hyperlinking, Collaborating,

Communicating
Quick and easy to write information on web pages.
Facilitate communication and discussion
Allow for quick and easy linking between wiki pages

If you can read it, you can edit it.

What are Wikis?

Some Wiki building websites include:
Wikispaces
PBworks
Wikia
Wikidot

Why should YOU use a Wiki?

Wikis are a great learning tool that can be easily implemented in almost
any classroom setting! Here are a few advantages to using a wiki in
your classroom.
Wikis promotes a collaborative, active learning environment
Wikis are accessible and editable from any Internet connection
(some wiki sites even have apps for editing)
Wikis can to be edited by anyone who is granted access to them,
allowing for quick peer-to-peer feedback
Creators have the ability to track all changes and can restore any
previous version of the wiki
You are able to integrate various forms of text and multimedia into a
Wiki
The use of a wiki allows students to practice higher order of thinking
through the creation and evaluation of information

How are Wikis used?

How do you use Wikis?

IMPORTANT: Wikis are NOT set up to have the same page edited by
more than one person at a time.
To get around this:
create many pages where students can edit independently
have one computer per group to work on the same page together
stagger when students go on the computer to edit
assign some students to edit and some to comment (commenting
can be done by many simultaneously)

How can you use Wikis?

Here are some examples of wiki projects and interactions
between students on:
Sarah Bougheys Third Grade Class Wiki

How do you create a Wiki?

Wikispaces.com
Join Code: RNC9THM

When should you use Wikis?

Use to display student work and allow for comments (e-portfolios)
Videos
Writing
Artwork (if uploaded as an image)
When you want students to take ownership of researching and
teaching a particular topic, and then learn from one another's
pages, and use comments to discuss
Document student research
Compile glossary of terms/concepts/notes for a class
Create a digital textbook filled with multimedia (even
Choose Your Own Adventure)

Ways to use Wikis in your subject area

History: Biography pages, timeline (each page different year)
Math: Explain different problem solving strategies (i.e. each
student creates one page to teach a mental math strategy in
elementary), groups collaboratively solve particular problems,
create and solve real world word problems
Language Arts: Vocabulary pages, display student writing, a page
for each letter of the alphabet or phonetic sound, evidence of
various themes found in a novel, book reviews
Science: Environmentally friendly strategies, different elements on
the periodic table, animals, any scientific research topic
Technology: Internet safety information, how-tos for different
software/programs/tech skills
Library: Research, book reviews

When should you use Wikis?

When you want start discussions between your students in written
form. Use the comments to improve upon student-to-student
discourse by giving expectations for commenting. Students can
work on skills such as:
argumentation
explanation of their ideas
building up to new ideas
negotiating
asking clarifying questions
showing critical thinking about their peers information
reviewing (giving warm and cool feedback)
responding to task on the page using skills taught on the wiki

Creating Wikis Evaluation Survey

Please take a minute to review our presentation

by clicking HERE! or visiting:

http://bit.ly/523wikieval

Webliography
These are some of the most popular free websites used to create wikis. For some, paid versions are available and
include upgraded editing tools, more storage capacity, upgraded privacy settings, etc. The two sources in blue
denote the wiki creators that are most commonly used in education, due to their user-friendly interfaces and ease of
use.

http://www.wikispaces.com/
http://www.pbworks.com/
http://www.wikia.com/Wikia
http://www.wikidot.com/

Here is a link to the short video used in our presentation explaining how wikis can be used to coordinate a group
project or group event.

https://youtu.be/-dnL00TdmLY

This website provides ideas for 5 different ways you can integrate student use of a wiki page into your curriculum.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/12/5-ways-you-can-use-wikis-with-students.html#.VeNjsdNViko

On this web page, the writer, Vicki Davis, explains how she teaches the use of wikis to her students. In this particular
post, she discusses how she explains the difference between content creation and content editing to her students
who are just learning how to use wikis.

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/tips-for-teaching-wikis-how-i-explain-it-to-students/

This website, created by Vanderbilt University for their prospective teachers, offers a brief description of a wiki, along
with how and when to use wikis. They also discuss why you might choose to use a wiki in your classroom and provide
brief outlines of research regarding the use of wikis. The website also discusses common concerns teachers have
when considering using wikis in their class.

https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/wikis/

In this link, the author, Richard Byrne, discusses one way to use a Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) video series
in the classroom. He also links to an example of a CYOA video created by one of his colleagues. While these examples
utilize videos to complete the process, a wiki can also be used to create a CYOA by linking to various pages in the wiki
throughout.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/11/create-choose-your-own-adventure-videos.html#.Vi1NahCrSV5

Here is a link to the shared example, Third Grade Class Wiki made by Sarah Boughey.
http://tasisthirdgrade.pbworks.com/w/page/47298934/FrontPage

Here is a link to the example wiki we worked on together in class during the presentation.
http://creatingwikis523.wikispaces.com/

Additional References
Here are links to some of the additional resources used to create this
presentation.
http://edtechreview.in/e-learning/582-wiki-in-education-advantages
http://computers.tutsplus.com/tutorials/what-are-wikis-and-why-sh
ould-you-use-them--cms-19540
http://meblog.pbworks.com/w/page/11074188/Wiki%20Pros%20an
d%20Cons