Wikis

Information about Wikis
A wiki is a web site that allows visitors to become participants in the collaborative effort of creating and editing the site. Participants can easily add, remove, edit and change the content of the site without any special technical knowledge or tools apart from a computer with an Internet connection. This ease of use and accessibility makes a wiki an ideal tool for mass collaborative authoring. Additionally, wiki participants can easily include links to other pages within the //wiki as well as// external links to the Internet and incorporate images, animations, audio and video into the wiki. The most well-known wiki is Wikipedia, which is an online encyclopedia that has millions of contributors and editors.
 * What is a wiki?**

Ward Cunningham invented the first wiki in 1994. He decided to name his new software tool “WikiWikiWeb” using the Hawaiian word for quick instead of naming it “quick-web.”
 * Where did wikis get their unique name?**

Wikis are most often used by K-12 educators for communicating with parents and for professional development collaboration. However, wikis are an ideal tool for student communication and collaboration as well. The [|TeachersFirst Wiki-Walkthrough] offers many [|suggestions for using wikis in the classroom based on subject and grade level]. It also offers additional information such as:
 * Information about Wikis for K-12 Educators**
 * [|Benefits of student wiki participation]
 * [|Planning and setting up a wiki]
 * [|Choosing a wiki tool]
 * [|Issues you should consider]
 * [|Setting up a wiki]
 * [|Getting students started on the wiki]

Victoria Davis of Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia has created an informative video presentation about using wikis in the classroom. It is located on the The K12 Wiki Project website. Presentation Notes - More information about Vicki and her award-winning wiki may be found at [|“Wiki Collaboration Across the Curriculum”].
 * Wikis in the Classroom**

http://terrythetennisball.wikispaces.com/ - Terry the Tennis Ball continuing story http://schools.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page - High School Online Collaborative Writing Project Westwood Schools Wiki (Victoria Davis of Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia) http://kyliandpalmer.wikispaces.com/ (students of Victoria Davis) http://www.podcastercon.org/share/index.php?title=Main_Page (a wiki that contains information about podcasting) The Aristotle Experiment (David James Conlay of Estancia High School in Costa Mesa, California)
 * Example Wikis**

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki http://www.edutopia.org/php/article.php?id=Art_1756 http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/ http://www.recap.ltd.uk/Web2/wikis.php http://recap.ltd.uk/wiki/Main/Guide http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K http://webloggedlinks.pbwiki.com/Wikis http://scienceofspectroscopy.info/edit/index.php?title=Using_wiki_in_education http://writingwiki.org/default.aspx/WritingWiki/ForTeachersNewtoWikis.html http://weblogg-ed.com/book-info/ Richardson, W. (2006). //Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful tools for classrooms//. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
 * Resources**

[|Find out about Wikispaces' offer to give 100,000 K-12 educators free K-12 Plus wiki space!] [|http://www.pbwiki.com] - Free Wiki Software
 * Wiki Tools for Schools**