Wikis

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We wanted to give you a choice, so we have evaluated three wikis for you, but before we give you the pros and cons of each site, let's go over some definitions.

 

click & point

Easy editing, similar to document editing in MS Word.  Also called WYSIWYG  "what you see is what you get" editing.

 

Free with big "F"

A site that is free, but is hosted by a corporation or non-profit organization that gets money to run the site from advertisements.

 

Free with little "f"

A site that is free only in its basic versions. For more advanced tools you have to pay, usually on a yearly or monthly basis.

 

HTML

Hyper Text Markup Language is a web page writing language that is the easiest to learn, but is also easily copied into other sites if your site is open to the public.

 

open source

A website or a program that is totally free and is being developed by a global community of users.

 

widget

A web application (program) that adds things to your pages. Because it is a program, only add widgets to your wiki or computer if they are from trusted sites, such as Google or Yahoo!.

 

wiki

From the Hawaiian meaning "quick" or "fast". Because making a web page is fast with a wiki, this name stuck. The most well-known wikipage is Wikipedia (fast becoming the most often used English language encyclopedia on the Web).  Here is a useful article specifically for educators discussing wikis.

 

 

Wiki Comparison Chart

	PBWiki www.pbwiki.com http://onlinelearning101.pbwiki.com	WikiDot www.wikidot.com http://onlinelearning101.wikidot.com	WetPaint Wiki www.wetpaint.com http://onlinelearning101.wetpaint.com
Cost	Free (Basic Version only) Silver ($10/month) Gold ($25/month)	Free (some premium paid options available)	Free
Site Type	Little "f"	Open Source	Big "F"
Storage	10 MB (basic) (file uploads) 2 GB (gold) (file uploads)   Unlimited pages and revision	100MB (file storage) 5MB file size for uploading   Unlimited pages and revision	No storage limit at present 20 file attachments total (1MB file size)
Ease of Use	10/10 for ease of use Click & Point + HTML editors	8/10 (after a moderate learning curve)	7/10
Private or Public View	Private or Public	Private or Public	Private or Public
Languages	English, German, French, Spanish (instructions only)	English, German, French (instructions only)	English only
Editing	Visible as you work in Click & Point Mode (WYSIWYG)	Not visible as you work	Visible as you work in Click & Point Mode  (WYSIWYG)   Limited video uploads. Does not support HTML
Ads or Not	None on Educational Version	None	Yes (to support site)
Site Manager	Excellent	Good	Messy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choosing a Wiki

Once you choose and learn how to use a wiki, it is difficult to make the switch. Think about what you need, how much money you have to spend, and how long the Wiki Company has been in existence before you start.

 

1. What do you want to do with the wiki? Look at some of the example sites for each wiki you are comparing.
2. Do you want to upload large files? Look at the file upload limitations. 1 or 2MB limitations will not be of much use if you plan to upload large videos.
3. Do you want to add audio?
4. Can you embed HTML files? You will become comfortable with technology and want to do more?
5. How good are the forums? Look around. You will see the kinds of problems other people are having.
6. How much money do you have to spend? If you need a totally free site and more than 10MB of space, then you will have to move to WikiDot, WetPaint (or many of the other wiki sites out there).
7. Is the Wiki Company going to be around for the long haul? How long have they been in existence? Do they have major backers? How are they paying for the storage you are getting for free?

 

As easy as making a peanut butter sandwich

PBWiki

Using PBWiki you can create your own website, where you can upload mp3s, images, videos, documents, and links to other websites. This is our favorite wiki and the basic version is free.  Create your wiki in the classic (HTML) mode or in the point-and-click (similar to working in Microsoft Word) mode.

PBWiki also allows you, your students, and your colleages to colloborate on documents.

Peer Editing Sandbox

Click here to learn how to use PBWiki for peer editing.

Tips on Using Peer Editing in Your Classroom

 A quick tips sheet on using PBWiki for peer editing in your classroom.

 

 

WikiDot

See the chart above for WikiDot Features. Of the three we have compared, WikiDot would be our second choice. We have considered switching to WikiDot because it is free; however, it is not as easy to learn and use as PBWiki. If you are not interested in technology and really just want something to augment your existing classes or begin to do online work with your students (and you have the funds), we would recommend PBWiki.

Sample Online Learning 101 WikiDot Website

We created a sample website for you to look at and compare to the PBWiki site.

Jenn Uhler's Wiki

This is an excellent example of a wikidot site that was used for workshops on Rediscovering the U.S. in Austria in August 2007.

 

 

WetPaint 

Our least favorite of the wikis we have compared, but it is free and would certainly be an acceptable alternative.

Sample Online Learning 101 WetPaint Website

We also created a sample WetPaint website so that you can compare the look/feel of all three sites.

 

 

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Other Collaborative Applications

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Text Documents

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and now we have a verb--to google

Google Docs

A Google Docs for education site. Great for sharing documents and spreadsheets and for collaboration work between your students. You will need a Gmail account to use Google Docs, but they are free, excellent, and easy-to-set up. Once you sign in to your gmail account, the link to google docs in at the top of your screen on the left-hand side.

 

Set up a Gmail Account here: Gmail

or a Google Account here: Google Account

See our instructions on how to set up either kind of account (and the differences between the two).

 

Here is an useful article specifically for educators discussing collaborative editing.

 

 

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Chat + Voice + Video

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bandwidth

Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred over your Internet connection. Watching video over the Internet requires more bandwidth (uses more space) than a voice call or regular Internet surfing, so it can really slow your connection speed down.  

 

chat

Chatting is simply communicating with text messages via the internet (like SMS or text messaging on a mobile phone) either through a downloaded program or directly on the web.  Also called instant messaging.  Here is an useful article specifically for educators discussing instant messaging.

 

extension

 

An extention is an extra application for a program that "extends" your options for using the program. For example, in order to record voice in Skype, you can add an extension. If you use Firefox as your web browser, you can add an extension that lets you add bookmarks to your del.icio.us page.  Also called an add-on.

 

voice

This is just like having a telephone conversation over the Internet.  It is usually free if from computer-to-computer. You can often pay for additional services, such as calling from your computer to a landline, or having voicemail.  Also called Voice over Internet Protocol, VoIP, IP Telephony, Internet telephony, and Voice over Broadband.

 

video

If you have a webcam (often integrated into laptops now), you can communicate using live video over the internet. This option often requires more bandwidth and can slow down the voice portion of the conversation, as well as other programs running on your computer. You can always turn the video portion of a voice call off.

 

webcam

A web camera is simply a small video camera (usually connected to a USB port ) that is either embedded in your laptop (especially newer versions) or that sits on top of your computer. 

 

 Everyone should skype!

Skype

A great collaborative tool with a combination of voice, chat, and video. As with all these tools, you will need a webcam to use the video function. Chat history (if enabled) saves messages in the chat window. With an add-on extension, you can record voice calls. 'The Pamela Extension', for example, will record 15 minutes of voice chat on Skype. You can pay for more time/space.

 

 

Google Talk

If you use Google Talk online (without downloading the program), you can use it to chat.  If you download the GoogleTalk client (which takes seconds, but you need to have the rights to do this on the machine you're using), you can also use voice (and video) for computer-to-computer calls.

In either case, you will need a Google account or a Gmail account to use Google Talk. If you have Gmail, Google Talk automatically loads all of your gmail account addresses into GoogleTalk (we're not so sure if we like that function). You can send voice mail or chat messages to people who are offline and they will receive the message when they log into their Google/Gmail account. If you choose to do so, your history is saved within your Gmail account.

Google has a good basic tutorial for using Google Talk here.

 

Set up a Gmail Account here: Gmail

or a Google Account here: Google Account

See Jen's instructions on how to set up either kind of account (and the differences between the two).

 

There are numerous services for instant messaging.  Meebo allows you to combine several different accounts (with one master password) to chat online from any computer without downloading any software onto the computer you are using.  Meebo can be used with AIM (American Online), Yahoo!, MSN (Microsoft), and Google Talk.

 

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Web Conferencing

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inexpensive and impressive

WebEx MeetMeNow

It is not free, but for $40 a month, you can share your computer up to 10 participants. Great for individual tutoring sessions. By share your computer, I mean that you can give another person control of your computer so that s/he can make changes to documents or edit a text. I have used this for English language tutoring sessions with business professionals.