Wikis for the 21st Century Classroom

Wikis are web sites that are easy for everyday users to create and edit. If you know how to type, you can make a wiki! Here’s the definition of wiki from Wikipedia: “A wiki is a type of Web site that allows the visitors themselves to easily add, remove, and otherwise edit and change some available content, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring.
Wikipedia is the biggest and most famous wiki, but there are many “wiki farms” on the web where you can grow your own wiki, some of which can also make private, password-protected wikis.
For those interested in creating their own wiki, PeanutButterWiki, Socialtext, Wetpaint, and Wikia are popular examples of such services. For more info, see List of wiki farms.
There are many potential educational applications. You might consider using a wiki to communicate with parents, discuss a novel, analyze political cartoons, have groups write acrostic poetry, post important web links for a particular unit of study, communicate with your Professional Learning Team, etc.

See some of the samples below:

The Science of Spectroscopy: Wikis in Education
A good article with examples and ideas the classroom.

Using Wiki in Education
Using Wiki in Education is a blog and wiki-based book by Stewart Mader, focused on the wiki as a tool for collaborative learning and knowledge construction.

CoolSchools and CreativeMinds
Are wikis used by the CCSD Office of Instructional Technology during Technology Integration Workshops.

PBWiki
Ready to get your own free wiki? Try PBWiki. You are just a few steps away from creating your own free web site.