Wiki+Basics

toc =FAQ= Below are posted some general questions about the wiki. Post questions you have had with their answer or questions you continue to have about the wiki and perhaps someone else will answer. If you have questions that are not answered here, go to the Help site on Wikispaces. As with everything in life, there is more than one way to get there, to help, I mean. Either click on the colored link in the last sentence or go to the Help link at the top of this page in the upper right hand corner.

Q: What is a Wiki? A: Wikis are websites that can be viewed and authored by mutliple people. The most famous of the wikis is probably [|Wikipedia,]the internet encyclopedia. We looked at that moments ago,

A: Wiki is the Hawaiian word for quick. "Wikiwiki" means really quick. There is no quicker way to get text online.
 * Q:** What does “wiki” mean?

Q: How can I use a Wiki in the classroom? A: Students can use their wiki sites as compilations for WebQuest research and discussions.

Q: What kind of skills do students and teachers need to begin working on a wiki? A: Basic keyboarding skills will get them going on text for pages, after that, you can learn various technology skills as a community to continue building your classroom wiki.

Q: Is a wiki safe from the public view? A: When you create your wiki, you have choices about visibility to the public. Your students will need a password to view the wiki.

Q: Is it true that anyone can edit or change wiki pages? A: No, not actually. When you create your wiki pages, you, as the administrator will be able to mark how or if a page can be edited.

Q: Does it cost anything to be part of a wiki?

=Comparing Wikipedia and Conventional Reference Books= = = Let's explore the differences and similarities between conventional encyclopedias and Wikipedia, the online free encyclopdia. Grab a hard bound encyclopedia of your choice and look at some of the aspects or qualities that you expect to see in such a reference text. Then, go to Wikipedia and see what it offers that corresponds, even though in a different way to the conventional texts. Now, fill out **five** rows, comparing the two types of reference materials. You will need this information later, so look both at what you have to say and what your other learners have observed as well.

How will you type in the box? At the top of the page is a green box that says "Edit this Page." In a moment, the page will close as you see it and reopen in an editing mode. Move your cursor up towards the editor task bar and you will see it become a four-directional arrow. That arrow will allow you to move the editing bar up and down the page as needed, keeping it handy for editing tasks: boldfacing, italicizing, underlinging, changing font size, numbering, bulleting and so on.

Bach to our similarities and differences chart...the boxes look small but as you type inside of each box, it will open wider to fit the text. Enter your findings and then rate which of the texts, the wiki or the hard copy, in the aspect you compared and explain your rating. Beneath the initial fourteen properties are blank boxes. There you can provide addititonal aspects of the two resources and either compare them yourself or leave them for someone else to compare. If two or more people are working on the same page, as may happen in a classroom, messages will come up on the screen notifying you that you are typing over someone else's edit. Be careful and allow their edit to be made before you save your own.

After you finish with your entry, go to the top of the page and click **Save**. Wait a moment and the screen will flash back with your entry now on the page. Go ahead and scroll back down to see your work. Then, go back up to the top and click on the history tab.There you will see a record of the entry you just made. How could the history page be helpful for teachers? Go up to the Discussion Tab, click on it and respond to the posts about this very idea.


 * Wikipedia vs Conventional Resource Books (ie encyclopedia)**


 * || Wikipedia || Encyclopedia || Rating ||
 * Author ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Editor || Within limits, anyone can edit or add to content || Hard copy limited to those chosen for the project || Even though I am saddened by the prospect of the disappearance of actual book usage and reading printed works, I guess wiki is pretty groovy. ||
 * Index ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Citations ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Editions ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Copyright ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Table of Contents ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Publisher ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Organization ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Credibility || Anyone can edit content on a Wiki page, so credibility of source adding info must be examined by researcher first. || This information goes through individual researchers working on specific projects, which have been checked by editiorial staffs. || As long as a researcher is aware of the process the poster of the information has gone through, both sources can be equally credible in certain situations. ||
 * Graphics/Visuals ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Readability ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Ease of use ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Tabs ||  ||   ||   ||

=Links to Worthy Wikis= Take a look at these wikis. Simply click on the colorized web address. mmmmmmm Click on this link to see her award winning wiki http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com/ Click on this link to see an outstanding wiki http://davidwarlick.com/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.HomePage
 * The Flat Classroom project is a genuine assessment project between [|Julie Lindsay's]grade 11 ITGS class at [|International School Dhaka](ISD) in Bangladesh and [|Vicki Davis'] 10th grade Computer Science class at Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia. I chose this wiki site because I have been reading [|Vicki Davis' blog]and she provided lots of good insight into creating wikis for schools, classrooms and students. She also has lots of ideas about using technology in general in the classroom.
 * David Warlick has a phenomenal wiki that he calls "an experiment." He had previously used a different wiki site, more like this one here at Wikispaces. Easy to use, but without all the bells and whistles. When you see his new site, you'll know what I mean. I am thinking that if a school were to really want to use wikis, it could start with Wikispaces and then, for the high school students, move up to the [|MediaWiki], the engine of his wiki site and the engine of Wikipedia.


 * Take a look at the Rock, Write and Listen wiki at http://rockwritelisten.wikispaces.com/. This wiki site has a well developed webquest with writing assignments and engaging materials found both online and provided through downloads on the wiki. This is a good example of what a teacher could practically create within a single content area and among classes.