Creating Wikis and Blogs

Presented By: Stefanie Rosenberg-Cortes

Go to www.roosevelthighschool.wikispaces.com

How Do I Do That?

What is a Wiki? What can it do for me?

2

Wiki means “fast” or “quickly” in Hawaiian. A wiki is a page or collection of web pages designed to

enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content. In other words, it can be edited by others.

How can wikis benefit me?Create a wiki to post websites or other documents for

each class you teach. This is a great way to communicate with parents and students.

Create a wiki within your school or department to post resources each teacher might want to share.

Have students create and maintain a wiki throughout the year as a way to post class resources or other information.

The possibilities are endless!

Examples of Wikis….www.roosevelthighschool.wikispaces.com

www.dmpshistory.wikispaces.com

http://dmea.wikispaces.com

Creating a wiki….

4

Go to http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers

Under the box that says Join Now, create a username and password.

Then, enter your email address. (An email will be sent to this address in order to confirm that it is a valid email.)

Make a wiki? Click yes.

Creating a wiki…. (Continued)

5

Wiki name:This is the name that will appear as your “website,”

so choose wisely. Example: www.roosevelthighschool.wikispaces.com

Some common names may already be taken so you may have to come up with something a little more unique.

Wiki permissions:Decide who you want to view and edit your wiki.

Most people choose protected which allows only registered users that you accept to edit your wiki.

Educational Use: Click “I certify this wiki will be used for K-12

education.

Creating a wiki…. (Continued)

6

Once you get an approved wiki name, a screen will come up that says Getting Started With Your Wiki.

Click on Introduction to Your Wiki. Take a few minutes to scroll through the basic aspects of Wikispaces.

Once you feel comfortable, click out of box. You should see the “shell” of your wiki.

If you need help in the future you can always click on the Help button in the upper right hand corner.

Creating a wiki…. (Continued)

7

Click on Manage Wiki (upper left-hand corner). Here you can:Change the look of your wikiSee uploaded files or delete them See members Etc.

Click on New Page (upper left-hand corner). This creates a distinct page from your “home” page. You can create as many new pages as you need. For example, you might want to make a new page for each unit you teach. New pages will not show up on the left side of your

wiki until you enter content within the page.

Creating a wiki…. (Continued)

8

How can I add something to a page?Click edit page Always remember to click SAVE when you are

done. What can I do within each page?

(go to edit to do these things)Post documents, PowerPoints, etc. Add textAdd weblinksPost comments

Questions?????

What is a blog? What can it do for me?

9

A website, maintained by an individual or group, with regular entries of commentary, events, or information. A blog usually allows visitors to comment on the creators posts. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.

Example: www.rooseveltworldhistory.blogspot.com How can blogs benefit me?

You can post comments You can upload video or pictures easilyYou can upload documents through Google Docs There are many add-ons to blogs that make it

more “pleasing to the eye”

Creating a blog…

10

Go to www.blogger.com Click on Create a BlogA screen will appear that says Create a

Google AccountEnter a current email addressCreate a password (at least 8 characters

long) Create a display name (this will be used to

“sign” your blog posts) If you are using this for a class you may want to choose your “teacher” name.

Creating a blog…

11

A screen will appear that says Name Your BlogCreate a blog title (this will appear at the top of

your blog)Create a blog address…

Example: www.rooseveltworldhistory.blogspot.com

Click continueA screen will appear that says Choose a Template

Choose a template (you can change this later)Click continue

A screen will appear that says Your Blog Has Been CreatedClick Start Blogging

Creating a blog…

12

The next screen that appears will be the “shell” of your blog. You should see three tabs in the upper left hand corner that say Posting, Settings, and Layout. You do everything with your blog using these

three tabs. If you want to post a blog go to Posting.

To post a video go to Posting, then Edit HTML. Find the “embed” code in the video you want and paste it into the Edit HTML section.

To add a gadget or change the layout, color, look, etc. of the blog go to Layout.

Creating a blog…

13

What is a gadget? Gadgets are items that you can add to your blog that automatically update or operate by themselves.

There are many gadgets that blogger offers such as:Today in historyGoogle search barPolls/surveysDaily quotesCNN News reelSearchable encyclopedia CalendarsSearchable You TubeEtc.

Questions????

Wrap up…Questions?Please go to

www.roosevelthighschool.wikispaces.com and take the survey entitled Wikis and Blogs Session.

Next time:ReviewCome with ideas of what to add to your wiki

and/or blog because these have to be reported to the ILT.

Time to work on your wiki and/or blog.