A Wiki (from the Hawaiian term “wiki wiki,” which means “very fast”) is a web-based document collection that many users can access and edit. Changes to wiki pages are tracked, along with who made the changes. This makes wikis ideal as a tool to aid in group projects, especially for online learning when individual students may not be able to meet face to face.
Note: Wiki pages are “user content” and will not be migrated forward from one class section to the next.
Project Ideas:
Wikis lend themselves well to projects that require data collected by several people from multiple sources. Wikis also offer the ability to link easily between pages. Suggestions of projects that use these features include:
- A student-generated collection of examples (text, images, videos, etc.), with category pages used by students to classify the examples according to criteria set by the instructor, or by their own criteria
- Branching student-created tutorials
- Representations of concept maps or process flows
- Presentations
Settings:
Name and Description
Give the wiki a name that identifies the assignment it will be used for. The description should contain instructions for students to complete the assignment. The name and description, like other Settings configurations, will carry forward to future copies of the course.
First Page Name
Although the default “First Page” may be used, it is helpful to give the first page a name that will help students understand what belongs on that page. For example, you might name the first page “Project Summary” or “List of Categories.”
Note: The First Page Name and Wiki Mode cannot be changed after the wiki is created.
Wiki Mode
Although there is an “Individual” option, the features wikis offer are often more powerful when used for collaboration.
Default Format
You will usually want to leave this set to “HTML” so students can use the same editor they use elsewhere in the course, unless one of your educational objectives is for students to learn a format more similar to one used on other wikis, e.g. Wikipedia. It should not be necessary to Force Format unless you are concerned about student confusion.
Common Module Settings: Groups
You may divide your students into separate groups, if you choose. See Groups, Grouping and Assignments for more information.
For more information about using wikis in Moodle, see the Moodle Documentation.