Wikis

=Definition= toc A wiki is a special type of web page that users who have permission can edit. Here is an introductory video about wikis. ("Wiki" is Hawaiian for "fast.") You are probably familiar with one of the biggest wikis in the world, Wikipedia. media type="youtube" key="-dnL00TdmLY" height="390" width="480"

=Where to get a wiki= This particular wiki is hosted on wikispaces.com. Wikispaces offers K-12 and higher education upgraded accounts for free. Other wiki sites may do the same thing. To get a wikispace wiki for yourself or your classroom, get a free account at [].

=Advantages to wikis= One of the great advantages to wikis is that they work for all types of users. As the video pointed out, a wiki can be used to edit, write, and save and can hold a lot of information this way. With just a little more learning about the wiki, a person can add links to new pages in the wiki and also to important webpages. A person with significant wiki experience can do fancy things with formating pages and also add small programs (called Widgets) to a wiki page.

A wiki is an ever-growing collection of material. Here is an education-related wiki that has been collecting stuff for about four years: http://literacymethods.wikispaces.com/ This wiki serves as a textbook for several different literacy-related classes at Capital University including "Integrating the Arts in the Elementary Classroom" and "Adolescent and Children's Literature in the Music Classroom." Instead of having a static text (or a text that changes and costs students hundreds of dollars because they can't buy used one), the classes have a text that can change based on their needs, changes in the field, and changes in resources available. All teachers are invited to be part of this wiki and to add to it.

=Examples of Educational Wikis= Several examples are listed on this page: http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis

This website is actually a wiki itself. As more educational websites become available, the administrators of the wiki can add them (or members of the wiki can add them, depending on the settings they chose for the wiki).