Wiki Tools for Schools

Snow?  Again?  Looks like this week is going to be a snowy one again, but maybe it will stay off the roads enough that we can still get out and about - just keep a watch on the weather, know your surroundings and be careful!


Creating a wiki is easy.  Wikispaces offers free wikis for educators.  It's simple to create one by going to http://www.wikispaces.com and clicking on the "Wikis for Individuals and Groups" area.  (If you want to find out a little more about Wikispaces before you start one yourself, just take a look at this initial screen.)  The basic plan is free to educators and includes a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, 2GB of file storage, built-in discussion forums, support, etc.  You can join by entering a username, a password and your e-mail address.  But before doing that, you might want to click on the link to the right of the page that says "Learn more and create your own classroom wiki today."  Wikispaces original goal was to give away 100,000 free wikis to educators and according to this site, 415,000 have already been established!  That should tell you something about how wikis are being used with classes in K-12 education. 


Once you sign up for a free wiki, you will notice 3 tabs across the top - Dashboard, Mail and Settings.  The Dashboard contains several sections which are fairly self-explanatory.  The Mail section works much like any e-mail system.  The Settings portion is where you can upload a profile picture, a profile page, change your username and password, etc.  If you decide in the future you do not want your Wikispace any longer, you can also delete your account on this page. 


To create a wiki, go back to the Dashboard and click on the "+ Create a New Wiki" button at the top of the page.  You need to give your wiki a name and select what permissions you want for the space.  Be aware that the Private setting is only free for the first 30 days.  The Public and Protected settings are free.  The Wiki Type you select should be K-12 Education (Primary and Secondary) if you are going to use the space for your classroom.  Once you have made your selections and given your wiki a name, simply click the Create button.


The next page you see will tell you all about "Your New Wiki".  Simply look through the instructions on how to set up your wiki, invite members to your wiki, and even establish accounts for your students.  Once your wiki is started you can always go to the My Wikis link at the top of the page to work on your wiki. 


According to Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, here are some ways you can utilize your wiki with your classes:


1.  Create a separate page for your students to collaborate on a class essay
2.  Use the discussion portion of your wiki and start a thread about something you are doing in class and have students respond to it
3.  Put a math problem on the wiki and have students post their answers
4.  Include a daily social studies entry, such as "This Day in History" and have students respond in some way
5.  Enter assignments so students and parents/guardians know what is expected each day/week; students can post questions they might have for you about the assignments
6.  Include important links to appropriate Web sites for students to explore and then allow them to respond about what they learned


There are all sorts of ways to utilize your wiki with your students.  I'm sure you can think of many more!

More about George Washington

I received an e-mail promoting a lesson plan so that students can learn more about George Washington and other United States Presidents.  The lesson is applicable to both elementary and secondary classrooms and everything you need to teach the lesson is included. Go to this site:


http://blog.teachtci.com/by-george-its-a-presidents-day-lesson


and scroll through the lesson to see if it's something you might use.  I have downloaded the pdf file, so if you want it, please e-mail me at melissa.earnest@caldwell.kyschools.us and I will be glad to send it to you!