Wikis

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 **Read Me! ** 
What is a wiki?

“Wiki” is the Hawaiian word for “quick.” . A wiki is essentially a web page with an "edit" button allowing users to add and edit information. This provides a very useful, and sometimes powerful, way for the wiki users to collaborate on projects.

In a wiki, anyone and everyone gets to decide what will be said (content), how it will be said (organization), and whether it will be said (dissemination).

Of course, the only wonderful attribute of a wiki is that it is just simply...simple. YOU can make a webpage. Your students can make a webpage. Your content department or grade level colleagues can make a webpage. It is simple to make, simple to update, simple to host. And that's something we've never really had before. Oh, we've had the ability to create webpages for a long time, but they involved lots of complications. This is just...simple.

Let's learn a little more! //Watch these two quick videos//:

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 See Me!
To select "just the best" to share with you is like asking someone the best color to paint a livingroom: each wiki has its strengths and shares very different information with the viewer. So, I will share some educational wikis that I enjoy visiting. Scan through the list, then choose about ten sites to visit, noting the structure, content, creativity, and overall appeal of each site. **Elementary Wiki Classroom Examples** Jan Abernethy's 5th Grade Class A fabulous site from a gifted teacher and her amazing CyberChickens! [|Elementary Math. Patterns] Several elementary classes collaborated on this wiki about patterns. [|The 100th Day Project] Mrs. Lowe's 4th Grade Class Where the Red Fern Grows Book Study Wiki Parent and Student Book Study. Mrs. Lowe's 4th Grade Class. [|McWhorter Elementary Wiki] 4th Grade Wiki examples (Dave Sherman) - The students in Sue Barwick's 4th grade class really got excited about the Wikis. Here are some outstanding examples of student work on a Wiki that is directly connected to the curriculum. Students were adding information on their own, without the teacher asking them to.  **Secondary Wiki Classroom Examples** Viet Nam Research Project High school Viet Nam war research project all built into a wiki. [|Missouri History Chapter Wiki] A review of Chapter 3 of __//Missouri Then & Now//__. Cheerleading Student created page. Lots of data. KS3 Maths SoW (Dan Stucke) A scheme of work on a wiki for a Math department in Manchester, England, teaching 11-14 year olds with these resources Science Rules This is //our// virtual classroom and a place to explore our solar system. ([|Miguel Guhlin]) [|Collaboration Nation] (Paul Bogush) Our class wiki used for 8th Grade Social Studies. Learning Latin America (Kristin Hokanson) 9th Grade Humanities classes collaborated to demonstrate and teach their understanding of Latin America. From Jerusalem to Montreal A collaborative project between Neveh Channah High School students (Israel) and LCC (Montreal) - (Karen Guth, Reuven Werber, Sharon Peters)

Other Wiki Uses
[|Faculty Meeting Notes] One person takes notes right in to the wiki at the meeting. Others can easily change any missed or misunderstood details. Notes are online for those who weren't able to attend DPS Librarian Tool Box Created by Antonio at ERS, this is a new place for DPS librarians to access resources and share and swipe best practices. [|Brush Schools] a "curriculum management system wiki" ([|Miguel Guhlin])

<span style="COLOR: rgb(180,71,8); BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,234,0)">Teach Me!
<span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">The first thing to do is to choose an application that you want to use to create your wiki. I'm encouraging you to use WikiSpaces (as you can get a teacher upgrade free), but if you have a reason to use a different application, that's fine. Just know that all the instruction will be given using WikiSpaces. [|PBWiki] An easy-to-use (but graphically limited) site. The host site for this ILT Workshop wiki. [|WetPaint] A fine wiki tool with lots of good templates--visually pleasing and easy to use. It's now advertising-free for education. Wikispaces One of the most popular wiki sites for educators. [|PikiWiki] A relative newcomer, it has good "drag and drop" features for adding and editing photos, videos and sound. Bright, kid-friendly graphics.
 * Free Wiki Websites**

From this point, let's do this together.

Click on the videos below. Remember, you can have the video AND your internet explorer or firefox browser open so that you can follow along with me. But don't hesitate to pause the video, back it up or fast forward, depending on your need.  http://workingonawiki.wikispaces.com/ Great wiki on making a wiki!
 * //**Topic**// || //**Feature film**// ||
 * //Creating your wiki (you're on the web!)<span style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(245,245,245)"> // || [|My Wiki] ||
 * //The settings in your wiki// || [|Settings] ||
 * //Editing features// || [|Editing] ||
 * * //toolbar// || Toolbar ||
 * * //font changes// || Fonts ||
 * * //bullets and the separation line// || Bullets ||
 * * //linking// || Links ||
 * //Inserting// || [|Inserting] ||
 * * //documents and graphics// || Graphics ||
 * * //a new page// || New Page ||
 * //The Navigation Bar// || [|Bar] ||
 * //A jazz session// || Jazz ||
 * //Widgets// || [|Widgets] ||
 * More of a visual learner?**

http://gettingtrickywithwikis.wikispaces.com/ Put a rolling banner, background or other frill on your wiki.
 * Do some cool things on your wiki!**

[|http://21stcenturyteaching.pbwiki.com/JAZZ up your Wiki] Great fonts, a counter, and a wonderful newspaper inclusion

http://www.widgetbox.com/ Thousands of widgets to put on your wiki.
 * Don't forget the widgets!**

http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/showcase/details.php?wid=137 A few thousand MORE widgets (categorized for each finding)

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">**Sites to check out:** [|WikiMatrix] <span class="wiki_link_ext">allows users to compare nearly 100 wiki services and their features side-by-side. Includes popular services such as <span class="wiki_link_ext">PBWiki, <span class="wiki_link_ext">Wikia , and Wikispaces, as well as several lesser-known wikis. [|Wiki instructions/uses] (Carolyn Foote) For a workshop, includes handouts on using pbwiki and wetpaint; ways to use wikis; links to examples of high school uses http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/ (Margie Brown) Wiki Basics from TeachersFirst.com Grazing for Digital Natives (Jen Dorman) This is a professional development resource for teachers seeking to incorporate technology intro their teaching. Topics include: blogs, podcasts, wikis, digital storytelling, and social learning. [|list of classroom wikis here in Del.icio.us.] from Miguel Guhlin. Don't miss the fantastic list of educational blogs at educationalwikis.wikispaces.com. See also Wiki While You Work. Susan Brooks-Young maintains the [|webtoolsforeducators] wiki where teachers can learn about Web 2.0 tools and see examples.

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="COLOR: rgb(180,71,8); BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,234,0)">Try Me!
<span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> OK, create your wiki!
 * Your Wiki Assignment**

Here are some things to know and do: 1. Make sure you get rid of the ads! 2. Bear in mind that EVERYTHING you make in class will be included; 3. You can have anything you want on your classroom wiki, but the framework must include, at a minimum, the following: a. Engaging and exciting front page (one that gives the message of what your classroom is all about!). Leave room for a Blabberizethat introduces the site (what you need to know is that is an audio introduction).; b. A page called "All About Me" (or something to that extent) that introduces who you are as a teacher, includes a resume, a self-narrated photostory, your educational philosophy, a well-written paragraph or two reflecting your philosophy on integrating technology into your teaching and student learning, and a WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE ME component (you may choose to do this later as a digital story); c. A "Parent Information" page (to include pertinent information that you would want parents of students in your classroom to know ( schedules, your policies, etc.); d. A "My classroom" page (this is a page directed at your students and provides information that THEY need to know. Some of the information overlaps from the parents, but much of it is different and certainly the tone of the page is different). What can you say to the students to put them at ease and make them confident 21st century learners?; e. A "Sample Unit of Instruction" page (this page will include, at a minimum: your Scope and Sequence chart, a subpage for each of your products, with an annotation describing how you believe the use of this tool will change learning in a way that would not occur without the use of the tool); f. A linked navigation bar (with subheadings); 4. Make sure you have some appropriate and interesting widgets.

**PLEASE REMEMBER**: this wiki is something you will work on every week, not just for THIS week. So when you turn it in, ALL the content for each component do not need to be complete THIS WEEK.

DO NOT feel like you have to COMPLETE each and every page. OBVIOUSLY, you can't put everything in, as we will be included the projects that fit into your Scope and Sequence as the semester progresses. But you need to get going--this is a HUGE assignment (utlimately, it is your semester project) but you should plan to work on it a little bit EVERY DAY! ===<span style="COLOR: rgb(250,250,250); FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(230,10,10)">**//This is going to be your final product in this class AND a vehicle to get a job, so this would be where you want to excel in your creativity and efforts.//** ===
 * For the FIRST WIKI assignment: **
 * 1) Create the wiki.
 * 2) Create and populate the pages.
 * 3) Create and populate the naviation bar.

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="COLOR: rgb(180,71,8); BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,234,0)">Other Resources
Edutopia magazine article focusing on one teacher's exemplary use of wikis in her classroom. [|Big 6 Collaborations and Wikis] An article on how to bring Big 6 projects to life with wikis. [|DeAnza College Wiki Overview] A wiki workshop page from DeAnza Colloege provides an excellent overview of wikis with links to many additional wiki resources and tools. [|Which Wiki is Right for You?] Rhonda Brisco of SLJ evaluates three popular wikis: pbwiki, wikispaces, and wetpaint. [|Wiki Matrix] Compare dozens of wikis on a multitude of criteria or do a customized search for the right wiki for your needs.
 * Background articles and information on wikis** [|Glorified Whiteboard.Edutopia].