Wikis: Exploring Classroom Use Thursday, February 28, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Facilitated by Elinor Appel and Carol Howe Updated for presentation by Carol on: October 23, 2008 PowerPoint: Comparison Spreadsheet:

Read / Edit web We are all potential editors and need to develop those skills. Presents an opportunity to learn collaboration skills. Means we are no longer tethered to our home computers.

Wiki Philosophy Based on the premise that more people want to see it correct than incorrect. Therefore, mistakes or vandalism is caught and quickly changed. The ideal is that everyone together is smarter than any one alone. In the case of Wikipedia, one edit occurs every 2-3 seconds. “Everyday thousands of people who have no connection to one another engage in the purposeful work of negotiating and creating truth.” Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Tools for Classrooms. California: Corwin Press, 2006.

Questions of Accuracy Study Wikipedia on your own to learn about its accuracy and function. Find a false entry and change it. Make a false entry intentionally and observe how long it remains. Note: that if you intentionally post erroneous material to Wikipedia, you run the risk of being blocked from further editing of the site. Add data that has been omitted. Watch for response from others.

“Literacy – is not a matter of knowing what source to use. It is a matter of being able to decide what source to use based on the goal at hand.” Encyclopedias – are established, offering stability, durability Wiki – are user established, dynamic, less durable, with a long tail. If accomplishing your goal depends on having the latest information about a topic and a more comprehensive array of information about that topic, then, a wiki may be useful. Warlick, David. Classroom Blogging. North Carolina: The Landmark Project, 2007.

“The Long Tail” This term refers the concept of making available information about a large number of topics. Some of those topics may be more obscure with information not readily found in standard encyclopedias and other reference materials. More information is made readily available, thus serving more people with wider interests.

Info about and examples of how wikis are used for classrooms. PBWiki – Access a classroom at Penn State Wetpaint - Multiple entries giving explanation of use. Wetpaint - Multiple entries giving explanation of use. Wikispaces – Geared toward K-12

RSS feed - Really Simple Syndication Brings new/most current information to you. With an RSS feed established on a page of your own, information is automatically updated. This can apply to news, topics of special interest, lectures, music, video. This information can come to you in the form of html, images, mp3, podcasts, etc. You can effectively build your own newspaper, have it delivered online daily, and design it so it contains the headlines and topics that interest you.

Reference Materials All are available for check out from NeLSC “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.” © 2006 Read/Write Web, RSS, The Social Web, Flickr. “Classroom Blogging a Teacher’s Guide to Blogs, Wikis, & other Tools that are Shaping a New Information Landscape”. © 2007 History, Digital Publishing, Image Blogging. A Practical Guide for A Practical Guide for design and development of e-Learning materials delivery and maintenance of online and hybrid courses preparation and training of faculty utilizing e-Learning modalities Prepared by Tom Braziunas using the text listed below. “Essential Elements: Prepare, Design, and Teach Your Online Course” (©2002 Atwood Publishing) by Bonnie Elbaum, Cynthia McIntyre, and Alese Smith.

Build your wiki - a wider selection of editing tools and lockable pages. No premiums available so no push to upgrade and it contains most features. They offer educators a space that is free of advertisements. – Easy to use and purchasing privacy at $5 / month is reasonable. Produced from Creative Commons. – some issues with customer service/support when using the “silver” package. Before choosing a host give careful thought to consider prices, ownership of content, whether pages can be made private. You will likely want the choice you make now to carry through the multiple wikis that you are likely to create. URL : _________________________________ User ID:_______________________________ Password:_____________________________

Term References Public / Private – Refers to who can view the site Protected, Permissions, Lockable pages – refers to settings that determine who, of the people allowed to view the site, have permission to edit the page. Page histories, Drafts, Back ups – Are all used as the means to track pages, allowing for the ability to at any time revert back to a previous version. Templates – refer to a style of how each page is meant to function. Eg. Calendar, project, etc. Styles / Themes – refers to the “skin” your wiki wears and is composed of colors, heading and navigation preferences.