What are wikis?
For more on wikis read the Science 2.0 column about wikis from The Science Teacher (available on D2L).
Here are three examples of using a wiki with students: 6th Grade Science - WikiClinic & Grade 5 Science & High School Science & HS Biology & HS AP Biology & AP Enviro Science. Damian Braxica also has a wiki with great examples for educators.
More examples of wikis in education:
This course wiki is built using "PBWorks."
Info on PB Works for Classroom Teachers.
Training resources for using PB Works
Check out this video to learn how to create and edit a Wetpaint Wiki.
You can jump right in and mess around with a wiki by going to the sandbox. Please make sure that you "join" this wiki. You will be able to edit and add pages, add resources, and continue to participate in the teachingsciece20 community.
If you find other examples of science teachers using wikis, please add them to the list above!
Feel free to create your own wiki on Wetpaint, or try www.wikispaces.com or www.pbwiki.com. All three are free and easy to use.
NOTE: Browse around the sites to see what they do for educators. If you check out the "settings" tab in your Wetpain wiki, you can request that you get an educator upgrade - they remove the ads and increase your storage space for free!
Comments (10)
Emily currier said
at 3:44 pm on Jun 16, 2010
OK, being somewhat out of a tech neophyte.... I've been playing with Moodle as a virtual classroom. Is it a wiki? Or... is it not really because the content is so controlled?
brunsell said
at 4:53 pm on Jun 16, 2010
Moodle is a "Course Management System," so it is more robust than most wikis. It is like D2L, but open-source so that you can use it for free and modify the way it works.
Jill Mahoney said
at 8:18 am on Jul 13, 2010
I posted this on the Sandbox wiki: I already use the wiki function in blackboard.com, my school's approved website for teachers. Is there really any significant difference between the wikis on Blackboard and those found on any of these other wiki sites?
Kelly Burke said
at 4:21 pm on Jul 13, 2010
Hi Jill-
We also use BB, but don't subcribe to the wiki or blog functions that I know of. We will be upgrading, what version of BB do you have? I think if I had the ability I would use it through BB, then there aren't authentication issues...but, then it might also not be viewable by anyone outside of BB. Hmmm, I'll ask some folks and see if I can get more info...Kelly
brunsell said
at 9:06 am on Jul 13, 2010
I don't see any reason to switch if Blackboard works for you...and is approved by your school!
Kelly Burke said
at 4:07 pm on Jul 13, 2010
Another site with examples of how/why teachers use wikis and their wikis:
http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/page/How+we+use+wikis+in+class?t=anon
Annie Hesterman said
at 9:09 pm on Jul 15, 2010
Are there any free wikis that will be secure so that I have control over who participates and views what's on them? I would like to restrict to my students only.
Shannon Knodel said
at 12:53 am on Jul 21, 2010
I am trying to embed a video into my wiki and it will not work like the directions for embedding video into a blog. Can anyone give me some advice? What am I doing wrong? I followed the directions from the Embedding video directions on this wiki...
Thanks!!
brunsell said
at 8:12 am on Jul 21, 2010
Which wiki platform are you using? Most have a button on the editor for embedding videos. You should also be able to switch to HTML view and paste in the emebed code.
Shannon Knodel said
at 12:44 pm on Jul 21, 2010
I'm using wikispaces and I got it figured out...I have to use the widget icon and it gives me various options of what I want to embed...very useful!
You don't have permission to comment on this page.