Wikispaces

**Wikispaces ** **__ Overview __ Wikispaces is a webspace design website that is free (for educators), private, and password-controlled. Teachers can post text, pictures and files for student download. Wikispaces can be edited by any designated member, and it also features a discussion board function where students can discuss classroom topics, give each other information or support, or ask for help with assignments. __ Features: __ **
 * Basic web design capabilities
 * Visual- and code-based design capacity
 * Discussion board
 * Online storage and presentation of documents, audio files, etc.

 = Strengths __:__=
 * Relatively easy to learn and use
 * Free for educators
 * Private, password-protected access is available but only optional
 * Student password and usernames can be set up through emailing wikispaces with a class roster eliminating "creative" and inappropriate usernames. This also eliminates the students having to request becoming a member of the site.
 * Allows site creators to lock specific pages and select who is allowed to edit certain pages.
 * Discussion board feature.

 =__Weaknesses__:=

 =__Before using...__=
 * Limited design capabilities
 * Sometimes confusing or "mysterious" formatting
 * Formatting functions aren't always user-friendly


 * Be sure to register for a free site by indicating you are an educator (this may, in some instances, require an email to the webmaster/Wikispaces)
 * Define parameters for online discussions and/or materials

 __Best Practices__ >>>
 * 1) Online discussions - Online discussions can be used in a number of ways. If an issue from a class is unresolved, a Wikispace-based discussion board is an ideal forum for continuing to explore ideas and concepts outside of the traditional classroom space. Discussions can also be used as an alternative to an in-class jigsaw. Students are responsible for researching a part of a text, a historical figure, or another part of the material and then can post their findings to the discussion board, making it available for the class to review on their own time. If you, as the instructor, agree to montior the discussion board, it can also be a valuable tool for students to ask questions regarding an assignment. This does require additional teacher time, but can be useful when students need additional support (such as during preparation for big exams or papers).
 * 2) Student web-designing - This is an excellent model of multimodal student assessment. Students are assigned a topic, and develop a website based on that topic. In order to complete an assignment such as this, several things must be considered by students and teachers alike:
 * Essential information vs. non-essential information: Websites that are "bogged down" with non-essential information are cumbersome and less useful than websites that provide only the information most pertinent to the topic.
 * Concise presentation: The web requires that information be easy to find and easy to use.
 * Audience: Who the likely readers of a webpage are should dictate what information is provided. Fellow students may be looking for very different information than, say, professional researchers. These parameters must be very well-defined.
 * Plagarism: There is no more authentic way to have students understand the concept and consequenses of plagarism than to ask them to formally publish information they have gathered to a website.
 * A sample of a student web-design project can be found here.
 * 1) As a web-site for your classroom-- This is a great resource for teachers to post anything they want their students to be able to access at home (if they have internet capabilities.) Teachers can post upcoming assignments, links to valuable online resources, calendars or anything you want students (or parents) to be able to see. Different pages can be created for different classes and it is a great place for students to post other online projects. Wikispaces allows things like video or other html objects to be imbedded. If your students are creating a TooDoo.com cartoon or a Glogster online poster, they can all be imbedded into your wikispace. No more trying to manage student passwords or having to "friend" all of your students to be able to see their work. Teachers are also able to link to Googledocs and place those links on the wikispace. Students can then access things like assignments or rubrics all in one place.
 * For resources on setting up your own Wikispace click on the following links:
 * Wikispaces Cheat Sheet-[|http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=F.64f0cfc9-8862-4318-9457-07df7ac27e3e&hl=en>>>]

__Bibliography__ Arnold, M., Baker, K., Balouris, E., DiPerna, A., Dupee, S., Fortwangler, C., et. al. (2008). //American Realism//. Retrieved February 02, 2009, from http://americanrealism.wikispaces.com/.