Wiki+Expert+Page

= = Wikis - Expert Page

**General Knowledge:**

 * The word //wiki// is a short form of the Hawaiian //wiki-wiki//, which means "quick."
 * The first wiki was created in 1995 by Ward Cunningham, who was looking for an //easy// authoring tool that might encourage people to publish on the web.
 * Now, a wiki refers to a website where anyone can edit anything anytime they want.

**Important Wikis Today:**

 * [|Wikipedia] has become the poster child for collaborative construction of knowledge and truth that the new, interactive Web facilitates. Here is the greatest example of the online encyclopedia that welcomes new entries about people, places, things, historical events, and even today's news almost as it happens every day!
 * More examples of products of the "wiki revolution":
 * [|Recipes Wiki]
 * [|Wikitravel.org]
 * [|Lyricwiki.org]
 * Many popular culture sites (movies, television shows, book series) have wikis that are edited by fans. They often offer a comprehensive introduction to the topics of the "universe" in question.
 * [|Star Trek Wiki!]
 * [|Harry Potter Wiki]
 * [|Twilight Wiki]

**Important Facts about Wiki Page Use:**

 * Every page has link link, which says "Edit Page" - you can click it, and begin making edits.
 * Each page also contains a "Page History" - you can see when changes were made, by whom, and what has changed.
 * There is also a "Discussion" page, allowing editors and contributors to carry out the negotiation over what should appear in the entry being created.

Teaching Ideas:

 * **__Online text for your classroom that you and your students can both contribute to:__** this could become a co-construction that is useful as a resource, to showcase best practices, and as a way of articulating information as well.
 * This could serve as a Wikipedia that is class-specific.
 * For example, if it's an English class, students might post ideas about various symbols and their meanings throughout __Their Eyes Were Watching God__, creating their own kind of symbolism library as they read along in the novel.
 * Students could use the site to post class projects and receive feedback from classmates.
 * A class wiki provides a permanent online record of the work done by students in a class without creating a massive paper load.
 * **__Have students create or edit entries to books that have already been started elsewhere__:**
 * For example, there is a series of full-color booklets on [|Wikijunior] that children ages 8-11 can contribute to.
 * This is also a great way to introduce students to concepts of open-source software, community collaboration, respect for people's ideas and much more!
 * Students could also contribute or edit a page on Wikipedia, and submit evidence of what they have added.
 * If you are reading a book series such as [|The Hunger Games] or [|Uglies], students can contribute to the wikiverse page for the book series. Or, you could start a public wikia page for a book you are reading.
 * **__Examples of teachers who used wikis in school:__**
 * westwood.wikispaces.com: This wiki is the result of a collaborative effort between students in a school in Georgia and students in a school in Bengladesh.
 * [|tinyurl.com/nr91yr]: In this wiki, one teacher's students in Pennsylvania track their work in their freshman biology course, building a type of text for their course as they go, while learning about working collaboratively.
 * [|tinyurl.com/6ruy3y]: On this site, AP Economics students at the Zurich International School continuously write and edit a comprehensive review text for the AP exam, sharing their work in this space.
 * [|PlanetMath.com]: is collaboratively creating a math encyclopedia.
 * [|"Operation Katrina 2009"]: students document their annual trips to towns devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
 * __**Potential Challenge in the Classroom:**__
 * Warning: Allowing a collaborative format into the classroom in which everyone can contribute has undeniable benefits, but it also comes with the risk that students will not use it appropriately. There are Web-based wiki sites that feature a password and login system that is required for people to interact with the site.
 * For further discussion of the pedagogical potential of wikis [|click here].

Other Resources and Tools:

 * Educationalwikis: resources, tutorials, and articles about how to use wikis in the classroom. A wiki about using wikis!
 * [|Wikibooks]: a compilation of textbook materials that can be edited and added to, too!
 * [|Webnote]: an online space for note-taking (all notes are totally searchable!)
 * [|Google Docs]: a space, created by Google, where you can invite anyone to edit and create documents or tables, and you have a history of who has done what.
 * Wikispaces blog: regularly updated with examples of well-developed wikispaces and ideas for collaboration in wikis.
 * [|Rewriting History via Wikipedia] Interesting article about a group trying to "rewrite" history.