WWWWonderful World of Wikis

Leslyn Davis Hardee &

Mindi WatermanCarteret County Schools

AIG Specialists

Leslyn About me…

– Gifted Specialist– Carteret County Schools– 8 years classroom

experience (grades K- 8 & Special Education)

– Currently K-12 Gifted Students in three local schools (Elementary, Middle, and High)

– Finished AIG licensure with ECU in July

– Hold Reading Certification in grades K-12

– Currently working on Master’s in Education with ECU

– Mother of one beautiful four year old

MindiMindi

•Mom to a four year old Lab named Monroe

Objectives

• We would like to provide the tools necessary for individuals to set up their own wikispace, give direction on how to allow student access to the site, and create insight into the limitless potential that wikis can provide as not just a classroom tool, but also a means of communication amongst OUR peers and the world.

• Wikis are a means to provide interaction with technology and prepare our students for the 21st Century—no matter what age group!

WEB 2.0

• While many of us are familiar with the first generation of web tools (email, chat rooms, discussion boards), we are finding technology moving faster than we are! Blogs, Podcasts, and Wikis-- oh my!

What the heck is a wiki….

• The word wiki comes from the Hawaii word “wiki wiki,” which means “quick”.

• Wikis are a collection of web pages linked together that anyone who has access to can edit.

• The first wiki was created in 1995.

• Individuals can add new content, discussion, chat, link to web pages, embed video, and create new pages.

So– Why wiki? • Wikis can be reviewed &

edited from anywhere that you can access the internet.

• Teachers don’t need any additional software to manage space.

• They provide a safe and easy place to store documents in order to access them at a later time (great if you travel between schools).

• Students have access from home to “edit” pages.

• Great for collaboration!

More specific examples to be shared later…

Students• There are a plethoria of ideas on ways to wiki with students---

several have been included in your handouts.• The use of wikis also supports six of the new literacies for Web 2.0

users (Jenkins, et al 2006): – Multitasking - the ability to scan one’s environment and shift

focus as needed to salient details. – Distributed Cognition - the ability to interact meaningfully with

tools that expand mental capacities – Collective Intelligence - the ability to pool knowledge and

compare notes with others toward a common goal – Judgment - the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of

different information sources – Networking - the ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate

information – Negotiation - the ability to travel across diverse communities,

discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping/ following alternative norms

Teachers

• Planning and teaching courses• Department meetings or wiki to share info. With

students• Conference proceedings• Classroom projects• Teacher Networks• Collaboratively or individually, wikis can help

organize course materials and resources• Page histories can be recalled should ‘bad’

additions be posted

Benefits• Provides a space to post

information for all students/ parents to access

• Provides a place for students/ parents to collaborate and post discussion topics or concerns

• Reduces the amount of time spent planning projects

• Post meeting minutes/ announcements

• Store documents that all of department may need to access

• Store documents that YOU may need to access between work assignments

WIKIs are like learners…. they are never really finished! The more they are used, the more useful they become!

Important things to remember:

• Anyone can view your wikispace---be sure to share this with your students. However, you have to be a member of a private space to edit. Public spaces can be edited by any visitor (ie: wikipedia).

• To become a member of a private space, you have to send the creator a request. Once you have been approved you may be able to edit depending on the level of protection.

Examples:

• www.aig.wikispaces.com • http://nc2aig.wikispaces.com/ (NC region 2

gifted wiki– based on new division) • http://7math.wikispaces.com/ (department

specific) • http://fhswolvesden.wikispaces.com/ (NC High

School– teacher of History/ English) • http://digiteen.wikispaces.com/Digital%20Etiquet

te (netiquette– digital etiquette)

• http://horizonproject.wikispaces.com/mobile+phones (example of student wiki project)

Free Wikis…. (yes, free) • Wikispaces • Wetpaint• PBwiki--free hosting with ads • Seed Wiki--free hosting with ads • Writely • JotWiki • Wiki Search Engine • Media Wiki—Runs Wikipedia

There are many others, however I am most familiar with wikispaces.

WIKISPACES

• Wikis in Plain English (show from Wikispace)

Options for access as a class…

• When you are up and running you can establish a “generic” account and password for all students to use as a log in to wikispaces.

• IE: using hotmail or yahoo create an account with a name such as ncagtp@hotmail.com and the password could be “thinker” (for example only).

• Your whole class/ group can log in using the generic email and password.

• You can also just make students and parents aware that the site is there and leave it up to them to log in by joining wikispaces.

• You can set up student email accounts using a student friendly program such as gagglenet.com & invite the students to join through your wikispace.

• Wikispaces will also set up student accounts for you without the need for email.

• There are pros and cons to each. You will have to see what works best for your particular group.

• One point– if you log in as a group you have no record of WHO last updated the site or who is posting discussions (unless you ask them to post initials or first name beside changes they make).

Getting Started..

Now that you know what a wiki is & why you should wiki…. It’s time to build your own

Simply go to www.wikispaces.com• join the space (steps 1-3)• create your space name (step 4)• DONE

It really is THAT simple…..

As a teacher….

• As a teacher you have the option on wikispaces to upgrade to a space with no advertisements and a bit more storage.

• To do this you can go to the following site: http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers

• If you have already created your wiki space, click on “Manage space” on the left side navigation bar, then click “subscription”.

• Declare that you will using your site for K-12 educational purposes and you will receive a free upgrade.

Those were the basics…

For the more advanced user….

Getting a bit more sophisticated:

• When you’re ready– Google the following: – Gabbly chat – Hit Counter– Clustr Map – Google Calendar– Voki- Avatar– Voicethread– Viddler – Poll Daddy– Ning

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION &

PATIENCE!

Go forth and go wiki!

Resources

• Jenkins, H., Clinton, K., Purushotma, R., Robinson, A. J., & Weigel, M. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Chicago, IL: The MacArthur Foundation.