What is a wiki?
A wiki is a web space where people can work together to build and publish information and content. Wikipedia, the web-based encyclopaedia that almost anyone with internet access can edit, is a well known example of a wiki. Whilst Wikipedia is a worldwide collaboration, it is possible for teachers to set up their own smaller wikis to allow two students, a whole class or multiple classes to work together.
All you need to create a wiki is a computer with internet access and a web browser.
Watch this simple video created by Lee and Sachi Lefever at Commoncraft.com, Wikis in plain English.
How do you create a wiki?
There are three main educational wiki providers who all have an ad free option for education:
Please note that Wetpaint can be searched for other wikis, some of which are very inappropriate. If Wetpaint is blocked at your school, you can currently 'unblock' an individual Wetpaint site via the Connectl: suggest a site or at your school. Talk to your school technician about this. You can request an ad free wetpaint wiki.
You can begin to create content in any wiki by clicking 'edit' on the main page. You then type and edit your text in a similar manner to that of programs like Word. You can create additional pages for your wiki and include links, documents, videos or photos.
Each of the main education providers offers tutorials and help for beginning users:
CyberSafety
It is important to get permission from parents to publish student work or pictures to the internet. Students should also sign an acceptable use agreement which may be modified as required. They need to be clear that personal information such as full names or addresses should never be published on the web and should be aware of their 'digital footprint'.
Some sites allow you to upload an identifying picture. Students should instead upload an avatar such as a voki image or a general picture, not a photo of themselves. They should also be encouraged to always use appropriate language and remember that their work may potentially be seen by millions of other people.
You can view videos and explore lesson plans and online activities related to online safety at Working with the Web. It is critical that you are fully aware of your professional responsibilities in an online environment.
Wikis and security
You can decide on the level of security for your wiki. You can choose to have a wiki which is:
- only viewed and edited by members
- viewed by the public but only edited by members
- viewed and edited by anyone (not recommended for education wikis!)
Each wiki allows you to invite members via email from within the site. You can choose the level of administrative rights of each member.
Given that wikis allow users to work on, modify, and overwrite each other’s work there is a need for agreed 'rules of engagement' by students and teachers. Contributors need to understand that their work may be deleted and changed by others and that their contributions may potentially be read by millions of other readers.
Wikis keep a chronological history for every page. Therefore nothing is lost forever, no changes can be completely destructive, and revisions can always be undone. You may wish to keep some pages 'locked' to avoid problems.
You can monitor a wiki or a particular page and receive notification of any changes to that page -- which is why an error in a site like Wikipedia can be corrected in a matter of a few minutes.
Examples
Wikispaces
- Schoolyard Blitz - Mooroolbark College
- Mansfield Prep-2 - Mansfield
- Graphic Novel Study - Ballarat High School
- Wicked - The Musical - Resources - Whitefriars College
- Year 11 English - Lara Secondary
- Year 11 ICT - Lara Secondary
- VCE Australian History - Bendigo Secondary
- eJourneys with Technokids - Anne Mirtschin of Hawkesdale P-12
- ICT Toolkit - Hume Region ICT wiki created by Ultranet Coaches
- The Digestive System - Edgewood K-12
- Critical Literacy and Creativity - a group project between four educators
- Teaching with Technology - Wedderburn College P-12
- Wedderburn College
- Using a wiki as a digital portfolio
PB Wiki
- Middle J - John Pearce of Bellarine PS's first attempt based on minibeasts
- Highlands Maths Project - Grampians region
Wetpaint
- Maths 9 - created by Mark Dusting of Doncaster SC
- Hawksedale P-6 Literacy
More information
- Find hosts for established wiki collaborative activities such as Wikiville (UK based) presenting projects such as their Project Global Village.
- Wikipedia is a wiki that needs to be used with some caution. If secondary schools allow their students to use Wikipedia to find information, students should be reminded to question and cross check the information with other sources.
- Schools also should be mindful that their students may be able to use Wikipedia to publish information. If students publish information that is inaccurate, defamatory or inappropriate, Wikipedia can remove the offending material and block the entire school community from publishing further entries, but the information may be temporarily visible.
- To overcome some of the problems associated with Wikipedia, primary and secondary schools can choose to use a school version of Wikipedia that cannot be edited. The school version has far fewer articles than Wikipedia and the topics it covers are much more limited, but whilst it is less detailed, it covers core subjects. To find more information about the school version of Wikipedia go to http://schools-wikipedia.org/