What's A Wiki?
Quoted from wiki.org:"Wiki is in Ward's (Cunningham) original description:
The simplest online database that could possibly work.
Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.
Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself.
Like many simple concepts, "open editing" has some profound and subtle effects on Wiki usage. Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that it encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content composition by nontechnical users."1
Getting Started
Watch Dr. Curtis Bonk's short presentation on: Wiki Uses & Applications
You will need to use special software to create your wiki. Here is a list of free, hosted wikis that are easy to use:
- Wikidot is a very good option
- Wikispaces is very popular with teachers and easy to use
- PBworks has a basic free version available and is relatively easy to use and ad free
Read 10 Best Practices for using wikis in education for some tips from an instructor who uses wikis in the classroom.
Here are some wiki resources on YouTube:
Wikis for research and collaboration
The RUBRIC Project (Regional Universities Building Research Infrastructure Corroboratively) is an example of a large-scale, multi institutional initiative that used a wiki to aid in their collaboration. This project is the subject of the Educause Research bulletin Supporting Knowledge Creation: Using Wikis for Group Collaboration. (pdf)
Wikipedia in the Classroom
To begin, let us discuss Wikipedia as a process, not a product. When viewed as a process, Wikipedia can be a powerful tool in the classroom to teach:
- improved writing skills - students have to learn to write in a way that is accessible to a global audience
- critical thinking & media literacy - identifying and using online resources responsibly
- improved research skills/scholarly citation
- copyright
- collaboration/consensus
- participating in communities of practice - interest in similar topics
The Public Policy Initiative consisted of 10 professors from nine universities teaching twelve courses in the fall of 2010. Students created and edited scholarly articles in Wikipedia on a range of public policy topics. Educause hosted a webinar on January 5, 2011 discussing this program and outcomes. The webinar recording and supplementary materials can be found at: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/WikipediaintheClassroomChangin/220908
Tools for using Wikipedia in the classroom (PDF):
- Sample Syllabus - for university instructors
- Welcome to Wikipedia - reference guide to getting started
- Wiki Markup Guide - One-page quick reference
- Evaluating Wikipedia Article Quality - How the quality system works
- Introduction to Free Licenses - Explains the idea of free licenses, as well as "CC-SA" and "public domain"
More information can be found on the Wikimedia Bookshelf page.
FERPA regulations require that faculty give students a non-public alternative assignment if a student does not wish to post in a public forum. However, if your assignment is on a private wiki tool and not open to the public, then all students can participate.
1 What is a Wiki, http://wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki. Accessed January 6, 2011.