Networked Learning/Wikis

A wiki is a type of website that allows anyone visiting the site to add, remove, or otherwise edit all content quickly and easily, often without the need for registration. Most wikis also offer a discussion forum for each page being developed. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative writing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki March 2006

The best examples of successful wiki developments are Wikipedia, Wikiversity, and the South African Curriculum There are free web based services that offer wiki authoring such as Wikispaces and PBWiki, and then there is free wiki software for servers such as MediaWiki. The key to the success of a wiki is in having an active participant base, which is why it is often better to work into existing wiki communities rather than setting up new ones.

Uses for wikis

• Collaborative learning resource development.
• Subject related discussion.
• Easy to maintain currency of online resources.
• Relatively easy way to build a website.
• This website is a wiki.
• Safe environment for K-12 when anonymous usernames are established under teacher management

More information about wikis

• http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikiversity
• http://screencasting.blogspot.com/2005/05/everything-you-need-to-teach-and-learn.html
• http://mobiled.uiah.fi/