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What are wikis and how can I use them?

** WHAT ARE WIKIS? **
Wikis are collaboratively authored, searchable documents linked internally and externally which can be edited in a web browser by whomever happens to be reading it. It can be thought of as a combination of Web site and word document. At its simplest, it can be read just like any other web site, with no access privileges necessary, but its real power lies in the fact that groups can collaboratively work on the content of the site using nothing but a standard web browser. Beyond this ease of editing, the second powerful element of a wiki is its ability to keep track of the history of a document as it is revised. Since users come to one place to edit, the need to keep track of Word files and compile edits is eliminated. Each time a person makes changes to a wiki page, that revision of the content becomes the current version, and an older version is stored. Versions of the document can be compared side-by-side, and edits can be "rolled back" if necessary.

** WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF WIKIS? ** There are several types of wikis. One is the classroom wiki which can include assignments, student work, and parent communication. An example is http://community.saugususd.org/dlindsay/page/ or http://mrlindsay.pbwiki.com/ Another type of wiki is the report wiki where there is a collaborative assignment by a small group of people. An example is http://arrrpirates.wikispaces.com/ which is a collaborative research project on the history of pirates by students in grades 4-6.

The third type is the school wiki sites and the best example is http://sfxschool.pbwiki.com/.

The last and probably the most famous is the large-scale, interschool or international project. The most famous of all large scale projects is the Wikipedia ( [|www.wikipedia.org] ), an open source encyclopedia resource. Wikipedia is one of the best resources on the internet, and its quality and breadth lends credence to the wiki as a great tool. It has over 10 million entries in 250 languages, all collaboratively entered by the world population.

** HOW DID WIKIS GET THEIR NAME? **

The name wiki was chosen by Ward Cunningham -- the creator of the first Wiki. It is a shortened form of "wiki-wiki", the Hawaiian word for quick.

**HOW DO YOU USE WIKIS?** The joy of a Wiki is the easy access which allowed the students to participate more frequently and freely. It's so terrifically easy for people to jump in and revise pages that wikis are becoming known as the tool of choice for large, multiple-participant projects. The use of a Wiki is gaining traction in education, as an ideal tool for the increasing amount of collaborative work done by both students and teachers. Students might use a wiki to collaborate on a group report, compile data or share the results of their research, while faculty might use the wiki to collaboratively author the structure and curriculum of a course, and the wiki can then serve as part of each person's course web site Wikis as usually as easy to maintain as a word processing document. Students work together to compose a single, collaboratively authored document. As information appears and drafts are revised, the students could add questions of their collaborators about content, revisions, and mechanics. Comments are created

__The first step__, of course, is the teacher sets up the wiki site and tells of a general description of how wikis work and what this one can do. It usually has links to other sites which are beneficial to the student.

__Then secondly__, the student then is “invited” to access the Wiki. Each student needs an individual username and password. Each student adds, deletes, revises, co-assembles and enriches the topic. Each student doesn’t have to worry about making a mistake because all mistakes are fixable. Any previous version of the content can with a click be recovered. The core of this procedure is the collaboration to make a final product. Please view this video from YouTube which explains the WIKI and how it works. [|www.] [|**youtube**] [|.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY] The transcript for this video is found at http://www.commoncraft.com/transcript-wikis-plain-english-video media type="youtube" key="-dnL00TdmLY" height="344" width="425" This tutorial is about how to effectively use a wiki to keep notes and share ideas amongst a group of people, and how to organize that wiki to avoid lost thoughts and encourage serendipity. It is a great primer on wikis.

**HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WIKIS?**

Other resources to learn more about wikis are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NRbbskf3cA&feature=related

http://news.zdnet.com/2422-13569_22-154679.html another wiki collaboration by ZDNet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmByB0sIPog what is a wiki

Morgan, B. & Smith, R. (2008, September). A wiki for classroom writing//, The// //Reading// //Teacher, 62//(1), 80-82.

 ||  || Total: 10 points for each wiki. Continues to give multiple and varied ideas. || Almost always contributes quality and research-based ideas to the wiki. Tries to give multiple and varied ideas || Sometimes contributes ideas to the wiki. Contributes only what is a “c” quality work. || Often doesn’t contribute to the entire wiki. Lets the other group members do the work. || “Hitchhikes” and improves others ideas. || Usually shares, with supports the efforts of others. Doesn’t always improve the wiki. || Often shares and supports the efforts of others, but doesn’t collaboratively improve the contributions of others. || Rarely adds to or improves the thoughts of others. || Date Created: **May 08, 2010 09:27 pm (UTC)**
 * || **WIKI Peer Group Work**
 * CATEGORY || 2 || 1 || 0 || 0 ||
 * Contributions of Thoughts. || Routinely provides quality **research-based** and thoughtful ideas on the wiki. A definite leader who contributes a lot of effort. || Usually provides **research-based** quality and thoughtful ideas on the wiki. A strong group member who tries hard! || Sometimes provides useful **research-based** ideas A satisfactory group member who does what is required but no more. || Rarely provides useful ideas when participating in the group discussion. Doesn’t do his/her part or has not read the textbook. ||
 * Creativeness: || Routinely looks for unique and effective strategies and activities to help with engagement and motivation. Extends ideas outside of the box or normal routine. || Usually looks for unique and effective strategies for engagement and motivation. Can extend ideas outside of the box or routine || Goes for the obvious. Does not look outside of the box. || Rarely looks for great ideas to solve the problems. Is bound by past history. Is “stuck in the rut” ||
 * Problem-solving || Actively looks for and suggests effective and quality solutions to questions. || Refines solutions suggested by others. || Does not suggest or refine solutions, but is willing to try out solutions suggested by others. || Does not try to solve problems or help others solve problems. Lets others do the work. ||
 * Preparedness || Contributes quality and research-based ideas to the wiki.
 * Collaborativeness || Shares and supports the efforts of others.