Before you start your wiki with your class(es), make some basic decisions:
How do you envision using the wiki? ( How will you explain it to parents and administration?)
Who will be able to see the wiki? (the public? members only?)
Who will be able to edit the wiki? (the public? members only? vary by section?)
Who will be able to join the wiki? (learners only? parents? invited guests? the public?)
What parts of the wiki will you “protect” (lock from changes)?
Who will moderate the wiki for appropriateness, etc?
Who will have the ability to reset changes?
Will you, as the teacher, be notified of all changes?
Will the wiki have individual or global memberships? (by individual students if you want an individual record of who made changes, or with one log-in per group, or per class?)
After You Start
Start small, and then build. Expand your use of the wiki a little bit at a time. Doing so helps teachers relinquish the kind of control they have in a more traditional classroom. Learners may feel more comfortable with a gradual change, too.
Play. Explore other educational wikis. Decide which ideas and practices you like, and use them. Find your way over technical hurdles through experimentation, trial and error, and your learners' expertise.
Encourage collaboration. Do group projects that take thinking and learning to a new level. Rather than give assignments in which each group member is responsible for a different task, assign real-life, multiple-solution problems in which "all of the group members working together adds up to something much bigger than what any individual could have done alone." That's the whole point of the wiki. Expect to do more planning, but less marking.
Set ground rules. Be clear about goals and expectations. Have parents sign a "wiki warranty" early in the year.
Let your learners know you can see any changes they make on the wiki pages -- be they constructive or devious.
Support learners. This may be new territory for learners, too. They need help with group-work skills, and they need reminders to look at the wiki after hours to find information and participate in discussions.
Tips for New Wiki Users
Table of Contents
Before You Begin
Before you start your wiki with your class(es), make some basic decisions:After You Start
Adapted from Wiki Wisdom: How to Use an Online Classroom Clearinghouse at Edutopia.
Guidelines for Learners' Posts
Post meaningful, relevant informationSummarize the information and provide hyperlinks
Read the wiki and ask yourself: “What do I not understand about this topic?”
Do not delete other people’s information unless: