Wikis+Spaces


 * Weekly Activity 4/12/10 - Wikis (two weeks)**

__Activity__: Create a wiki to share information about your library program with your students and teacher colleagues. Some items that you may want to include are pictures of your library, hours of operation, policies/procedures, your school or library logo, a link to your online catalog, your Shelfari widget, your Delicious link/widget, your Wallwisher page, a Google calendar, links to your library Facebook page, highlights of special library programs or celebrations, featured new books, links to the databases, links to your electronic pathfinders, book club information, Battle of the Books information, historical school information, links to Chicago Public Library, RSS feed widgets, Creative Commons licensing information, word clouds, polls, surveys, or any other information that you think would be of interest. Remember, that a wiki is a "living" document and can easily be changed as information and resources change. This activity is a precursor to Student Project #3

__About Wikis__: Definition of a wiki Common Craft "Wikis in Plain English"

__Examples of Library Wikis__:

Springfield Township Library http://springfieldlibrary.wikispaces.com

Decatur High School http://dhs.wikispaces.com

Murray Hill Middle School http://mhmsmedia.wikispaces.com http://murrayhill.wikispaces.com

View the video "Intro to Wikis" @http://www.blip.tv/file/3469901 (click on viewer to enlarge)

__Independent Activity__: 1. __Create a wiki__: - Go to @http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers, log in, and select "Create a New Wiki". - Select a wiki name that is reflective of your library, identify it as "protected", and identify it as "Educational Use" - Select Manage Wiki > Settings > Look and Feel. Select a desired Theme & Color and apply. Insert your school logo or other custom design and save.

2. __Creating pages__: - Click on "New Page" at the top left of the window to create new page. - To lock pages that you don't want others to alter, click on Manage Wiki > Pages. Select the page you want to control and then lock the page in the upper right corner of the window.

3. __Editing/Saving Content__ - Click on a page to edit its content. In edit mode, a tool bar will come up that will allow you to select font customizations and to add bullets, horizontal lines, links, files, widgets, and tables. Click the save button to update the page. - Add internal wiki links and external links by clicking on the "Link" button. For external links, click the"New Window" box to keep visitors from exiting your wiki. - Insert files by clicking on the "File" button. Navigate to the file on your computer, upload it, and click on the uploaded file to embed the link in the wiki.

4. __Discussion/History/Notifications__ - Use the Discussion tab to discuss items on a particular page with others. - Use the History tab to look at earlier versions of a particular page (also good to document student work at their wikis) and to roll back to a particular version of a page if it is inadvertently damaged. - Use the Notify Me tab to receive notifications about changes to specific pages (good to track changes in student work and to know to provide feedback). Use Manage Wiki > Tools > Notifications to receive notification of changes to any part of the wiki.


 * We will discuss more advanced wiki skills at our next face-to-face meeting. **

__More Video Tutorials @http://www.wikispaces.com/site/tour

Helpful Widgets__:

Delicious widgets @http://delicious.com/help/tools

__Standards__: AASL: 1.1.8, 1.1.9, 1.4.2, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 3.1.2, 3.1.4, 3.2.3, 4.3.1 ISTE NETS-S: 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 2d, 3b, 3c, 4c, 6a. 6b