Presented by Chad Kafka

This Month’s Topic:

WikispacesBasic

Today’s session is an introduction to what a WIKI is and how they can be used in education.

Please turn on your laptop and connect to wireless in the room.

Today’s session is an introduction to what a WIKI is and how they can be used in education.

Please turn on your laptop and connect to wireless in the room.

Topics for todayBASICS• What is a wiki?– Edit & Save

• Play with wiki (http://chadkafka.wikispaces.com)

• Create your own account• Joining another wiki• Creating your own wiki• How to add a widget• Upgrading to K-12 (2GB space, no ads)

What is a Wiki

• “A collaborative website which allows multiple users to create, modify and organize web content”

• Free (K-12 upgrade includes no ads & more space)– Good for grade level teams,

departments• If you are a member, you can

“edit” the content on the wiki

Today’s TTT: Your Options1. The wiki has been set up as “open” so anyone

can edit anything without logging in to wikispaces.com This is a way to try things out before creating a wiki of your ownhttp://chadkafka.wikispaces.com

1. If you have your own account already and want to test some of these things on your own wiki, please go to www.wikispaces.com and login

Playing on Wiki1. Head to http://chadkafka.wikispaces.com2. Tech Coach will assign “PlayPage” to you and

partner (depending on size of group)3. Click EDIT on your PlayPage

4. Use Editor bar (like Word toolbar) to edit your page.

Setting up an Account• Open web browser (Safari) and go to

http://www.wikispaces.com/ • If a member, click SIGN IN and log in to your account– If not a member, fill out the “getting started” area to create account

Setting up your Account• Email sent to email address you provided. Click link

in that email to verify your account– NOTE: You can be a member of wikispaces.com

WITHOUT having to create your own wiki website. Only fill out the CREATE A NEW WIKI section if you want to create your own wiki that you will manage and maintain

Getting Around

• When logged in, use the top bar on the right to get around in your account– My Wikis: Mouse over this area and

any wikis you are a part of will display for quick click access

– My Account: Set your account details like your email address, timezone, contact info

– Help: Help area (good tips, tricks and how-to’s

– Sign Out: Good idea to sign out if you share computer so others can’t get in to your account

Create a New Wiki• FIRST - What is the purpose of your wiki?– Team Wiki? (6thSWG? FPSPhyEd? FPMS-Math?)• Ex: Teachers could have individual pages on wiki

– Power of wiki comes from collaboration

• Click CREATE A NEW WIKI button– Wiki Name: part of web address (keep simple)

xxxxx.wikispaces.com– Permissions: Protected• Allows members to edit

– Wiki Type: Choose K-12No ads & more space

– Click CREATE

Make a new page in your wiki• Click NEW PAGE• Create Page Name (good

to NOT have spaces)• Add any searchable tags

(separate tags by comma or ENTER)

• Click CREATE and add new content to new page. Click SAVE.

• Page now automatically appears in navigation area

Join an already existing Wiki• If invited by email or you find

a wiki you want to “join,” go to that wiki site

• Click JOIN THIS WIKI (either on left or right)

• By joining, the wiki will show up under your My Wiki’s area (quick access)

• Being a member might allow you to edit content or create pages on the wiki

Widgets• What is a widget?– Short for “web gadget” – A small program or interactive piece to a

webpage– Examples: video, audio, slideshows, games, calendar,

poll, chat window, document, bookmarks, map• Putting a widget on a page is known as embedding• Example: This page has a video embedded

Anything with an EMBED code on the web can be EMBEDDED on your wiki and it doesn’t take up any of the space you

are allowed for your wiki!!!

Anything with an EMBED code on the web can be EMBEDDED on your wiki and it doesn’t take up any of the space you

are allowed for your wiki!!!

Example: Embedding YouTube Video• Go to www.youtube.com• Type “cute dog” in the search• Click a cute dog video• Right side of YouTube screen has

video information• Click on “embed” line

– Make border & size choices• After choices, click Embed line to

highlight code• Go to EDIT COPY• Go to wiki page. Click EDIT. Click

and choose• Choose YOUTUBE• Paste Code in box. EDIT PASTE• Click Save to save widget and

Save on toolbar to save page.

Manage Site – “behind the scenes” controls

• Pages – delete or rename pages

• Files – can delete files you have uploaded to your wiki

• Look and Feel – change colors, layout of wiki

• Space Usage – see how much space you have left

How to Request a free K-12 Upgrade• First – set up your wiki so wikispaces will know it’s a site being used

for K-12 education when they inspect your site.• Go to MANAGE WIKI SUBSCRIPTION• Scroll to bottom• Click “Request your free upgrade now”

– They will inspect and email you if request has been approved

Get 2GB of SpaceNo Advertisements

Get 2GB of SpaceNo Advertisements

TABS: History Tab• The HISTORY tab keeps record

of all the changes to that page.

• Click HISTORY on any page and see all the revisions.

• If you click on a date, that “old” page will display showing the added or deleted content.

• Can click REVERT TO THIS VERSION to change this page back to that older version– Great if content was deleted or

mistake made

TABS: Discussion Tab• Members of your wiki can

discuss content related to that page in the Discussion tab area; similar to message board

• When a new post is created, can decide if discussion should be public or private

• Idea: You can create “accounts” for students to use in your wiki without students having to have an email address

TABS: Notify Me Tab• If sharing wiki with others,

you can set the wiki to notify you by email when an update is made to page or the site– Page Update: Navigate to

page, click Notify Me and make choices. Click Update

– Site Update: Go to MANAGE WIKI NOTIFICATIONS and make choices for whole site

Note: Notifications will only work if when

you registered with wikispaces.com, you

clicked the verification link in the email they

sent you. Can resend by clicking link on MANAGE WIKI NOTIFICATIONS page

Note: Notifications will only work if when

you registered with wikispaces.com, you

clicked the verification link in the email they

sent you. Can resend by clicking link on MANAGE WIKI NOTIFICATIONS page

Resources• http://www.wikispaces.com/site/tour New video tutorials

from wikispaces. Use drop down menu to watch different videos!

• http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers - has ideas and materials for how to use wikis with classrooms

• http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/ - good click through activity to help you figure out how and what to use wiki for

• http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/ - Educational ideas for using wikis. Check “discussion” area to talk with other educators