Why+wiki?

//A **wiki** is a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified [|markup language.] Wikis are often used to create [|collaborative] [|websites] and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia [|Wikipedia] is one of the best-known wikis//. ([|Wikipedia]).
 * What is a wiki?**

Wikis' easy-to-use (WYSIWYG--what you see is what you get) software allow us to easily create websites and they allow others to collaborate in building and editing them. Wikis may be one page or multiple pages. You can easily see the history of a wiki under the History tag. Vandalism can be easily detected and traced to a login or IP address, depending on the particular wiki configuration. Discussion is possible under the Discussion tag. Wikis may include a variety of embedded widgets (little program applications) including interactive maps, calendars, videos, slides shows, etc.

[|Video: Wikis in Plain English] media type="custom" key="1673835"


 * Wiki building tools**
 * [|Wikispaces for Teachers]
 * [|PB Wiki For Education]
 * [|MediaWiki]
 * [|Wikia]
 * [|Tiddlywiki]
 * [|Wet Paint]

Whether it's for your own convenience, your work with learners, to enhance professional development, etc, wikis will help you:
 * Why teachers should create and use wikis**:
 * Create an index to student pages.
 * Build class knowledge around a unit, vocabulary, etc.
 * Build an agenda for your team meetings, or faculty meetings.
 * To build instructional units with colleagues
 * To teach about effective web design
 * To teach skills relating to collaboration and negotiating writing
 * Because we know that learning is a social process


 * Why students should create and use wikis:**
 * To collaborate on projects with other students in their classes
 * To learn about effective web design
 * To collaborate on projects with other students outside their classes
 * To build documents together
 * To learn about authority and source in online documents
 * To build collaborative and negotiation skills
 * To organize knowledge so that it is useful [|AASL Standards]
 * To demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to express learning [|AASL Standards]
 * To collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems [|AASL Standards]
 * To use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings [|AASL Standards]
 * Because we know that learning is a social process

Whether it's for your own convenience, your library website, your work with teachers and learners and administrators, to enhance professional development, etc, wikis will help you:
 * Why librarians should create and use wikis:**
 * Wikis make great pathfinders! (see[| Ten reasons why your next **pathfinder** should be a **wiki**])
 * To provide access to databases
 * To provide access to reference tools
 * As a quick way to organize your links to teacher and student projects
 * As a quick way for you to teacher teachers how to get a website started.
 * Because we know that learning is a social process


 * Why administrators should create and use wikis:**
 * To collaboratively plan staff, parent, student, and board meetings
 * To model use of the tools for your faculty and for students
 * Because we know that learning is a social process


 * Examples:**
 * Examples of educational wikis
 * NewsToolsWorkshop Wikis