Wikis

=What is a wiki?= The term wiki is a shorter form of wiki wiki, a Hawaiian word meaning "quick" or "fast".

A wiki is a website that allows users to easily add, remove, or otherwise edit content, very quickly and easily. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative writing.

Wikis also can provide a place to share other multimedia such as video, audio, and digital pictures.

For more information go to the [|Encyclopedia of Educational Technology.]

The most famous (or infamous) wiki is [|Wikipedia] and it houses over a million articles just in English; many other languages are represented as well. Terms are interlinked throughout Wikipedia. This is an essential resource for just about anyone; especially educators and students. By the way, if you're worried about accuracy, studies have found that Wikipedia is as reliable as any encyclopedia ([|BBC]).

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Wiki Tools
There are several free tools available to construct a wiki. You may have to explore them to find the one that works best for you.
 * Wikispaces
 * [|WetPaint]

Tutorials

 * [|Wikispaces Tutorials]
 * [|Wetpaint Tutorial]
 * [|Teachers First Wiki Walk-Through]
 * Flat Classroom Wiki Tutorial

Wiki Examples

 * The Flat Classroom Project & The Horizon Project - Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay started these international collaborative projects in 2006 and they are still going
 * Arrrrr Pirates - Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth grade Enhanced Learning students used this wiki to display their research on Pirates
 * Go West - Third grade example of westward expansion on the Oregon Trail
 * A Country Divided - 5th grade students created a Civil War wiki. Each student created a Glog to display their work
 * Constitution Scrapbook - 8th grade American History class mad a scrapbook of current events and issues dealing with the Constitution, constitutional principles, the three branches of government and the Bill of Rights. THis wiki also contains projects on Clash of Cultures: Native Americans in the Western Frontier, A Compendium of Slavery, and more
 * Political Parties and Elections Projects - Each year this instructor's students participate in election campaigns as part of their government curriculum
 * Virtual Field Trips - A wiki with information on virtual field trips