Wikis as Instructional Tools

1. Wikis as Instructional Tools Konna Parker Academia Cotopaxi 2012

2. What is a wiki? Wiki as movement Wiki as software • Term in Hawaiian for moving quickly • Wiki wikiis used to denote very quick movement • Started by Ward Cunningham in 1995 • Chose the name ‘wiki’ to denote that his software would be fast and easy to use • Cunningham wanted his software to do something new and have people discover the potential as they went • Wiki as shelter • Wikiup – Native American ‘tent’ that could be put up quickly

3. What is a pbworks.com wiki? • Wikipedia, the most famous wiki • A wiki is a workspace that can be private or public and contains information that can be edited and have links to websites or other content • Pbworks.com is one online source for collecting and sharing information and links • Teachers and students can create workspaces for all sorts of projects and work, such as: • E-portfolios • Research projects • Group collection spaces • School Clubs

4. Why use this type of technology? • Our students are the 21st Century • Creative problem solvers • Collaborators • Media & tech users • Digital Natives – Marc Prensky • 21st Century Fluency Project – Ian Jukes

5. Some uses for a wiki • Class collaborations • E-portfolio sites • Research projects • School Clubs • Paperless submissions • Class projects • Literary conversations • Things I haven’t thought of!

6. How have I used a wiki? • E-portfolios – two different examples • School Club – LS Student Council • Research Projects – Mathematician, Scientist • Class Collaboration – WWW Trip

7. Some questions to answer: • What will be the purpose of your wiki? • How will you use your wiki for instruction? • Will the wiki be collaborative or individual? • Will the wiki be content-oriented or end-product oriented? • What are some possible management issues?

8. Management Issues • Member of numerous workspaces • Grading • Privacy • Paperless submissions • Deadlines • Links • Photos • Videos

9. Getting started: • How do I start a wiki? • Creating a workspace • Deleting & Creating Pages • Renaming Front Page • Inviting Users • Editing a page • Uploading • Photos & Videos

10. Howdo I start a wiki? • Create a pbworks.com account if needed • Create a workspace for your class on pbworks.com • Delete pages on the workspace that you don’t need or want • Rename the Front Page • Add pages to the workspace that you will want for your class • Invite members using email address or give them the URL so they can ask to be invited

11. Creating a pbworks.com account • Go to pbworks.com and click Login • Fill in the spaces for name, email, etc. and Create Account • Choose the Basic, Free account • You may choose to use a school email address or your personal email address

12. Creating a workspace • Once signed in, at bottom right of the page, click Create a New Workspace • Choose the name of the workspace carefully because you may not change it without it being deleted • Make it private • Agree to different terms and create • You don’t need to remember the workspace name in order to sign in

13. Deleting & Creating Pages Delete • Go to the Pages and Files tab at the top of the Front Page • Check the pages you do not want to keep and click Delete Create • Click on Create a Page link on upper right of Front Page • Name the page, click blank page, and create

14. Renaming Front Page & Inviting Users Renaming • Click Edit tab • Click Rename this Page at upper right and rename! Invite Users • Click Users tab at top of page • Click Add More Users tab at upper right and add email addresses of people you want to invite • You may cut & paste from a Word document • You may give the url to students and they send a request

15. Editing a Page Editing • Click on the Edit tab • This area functions similar to Word and allows either direct typing or uploading • You may add text, photos, videos, links, etc.

16. Work on your wiki &ask questions