Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Why not create a wiki for your classroom?

Submitted by Fiona Beal
Have you ever considered using a wiki in your class? It can be a fabulous classroom tool with a multitude of uses.


What is a wiki?


A wiki is a space on the Web where you can share work and ideas, pictures and links, videos and media — and anything else you can think of. It is like a website but it doesn't require any special knowledge of HTML. Anyone who joins the wiki can write and edit on the wiki which makes it ideal for classroom use. What I like about using a wiki is that it is free and it makes sharing and collaborating on all kinds of content as easy for your students as it is for you.


A great example


Watch how this 2nd grade teacher uses a wiki in her classroom. This is an amazing video and gives a good idea of what a wiki is as well as how it can be used: This is not a YouTube video so click on the video link below the picture to be taken to the viewing site. 

image

http://www.mistreamnet.com/vidflv.php?who=milearn.connected.wikis.020712
(13 minutes)

Types of wikis

It is amazing to see all the ways that wikis are used by educators. I have gathered some of the ideas together and presented them in the Slideshare.



Create your own wiki using Wikispaces


If you think you would like to give a wiki a try, I have created some instruction for you. My favourite wiki platform is Wikispaces. They give educators so many free options and have designed their wikis to be really easy to operate. This Slideshare shows you how to create a wiki using Wikispaces.

A challenge


Hopefully I have challenged you to give Wikispaces a go. Let me know if you do!

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