Wikispaces

“A wiki is a space on the Web where you can share work and ideas, pictures and links, videos and media — and anything else you can think of,” according to wikispaces.com.  I was introduced to Wikispaces over the last couple of years as a collaborative writing and editing site.  I personally used it in one of my DePaul classes to work with fellow classmates on some literature review and on group writing assignments.  My son is in 5^th grade, and his teacher used it in the classroom and at home so students could work together on numerous projects. 

For my son’s class, the wikispace site allowed for social interaction between the students that could be monitored by the teacher and parents.  Wikispace will allow for students to work in small groups, and then the work can be posted for the larger class.  Students could work on the projects during school and from their home computers.  The teacher can monitor the discussions, writing work contributed from each student, and any file uploads. 

Students can edit a page as a group and track their edits.  Videos, images, and other documents can be uploaded to a project.  Comments can also be added to a page where a direct edit may not be necessary.  They can also use a separate discussion forum.  There are page templates and customizable themes, or one can start from a blank page.  Widgets can be used to add features such as videos, calendars, and visitor counters. 

Businesses can use Wikispaces Private Label for their business.  This is a secure wikispace dedicated to a business with extra tools to integrate the site with existing systems.  There is also Wikispaces Classroom which gives additional tools to help teachers track the users on the site.

-Katie Eckert