An article for teachers / educators
The power of Wiki technology begins with it's simplicity. As a teacher, it will take you no more than an hour to get your head around the basic administration. For students, it will take little or no instruction to get them searching and sharing.
What does Wiki Server do?
In a nutshell Wiki Server empowers collaboration. It provides an integrated suite of services, accessed through a web browser, where teachers and/or students can share resources publicly, in groups or between individuals. When setting up a new Wiki you simply choose from a list of great looking themes and then select which services you want to enable; Wiki, Blog, Calendar and/or Mail. Users and groups are easy to create or can be synchronised with your existing Active Directory (AD) Server.
How to organise your Wiki
If you've used Wikipedia you'll know it's not designed like most websites, with complex navigation to content. You can create just one personalised heading where specific pages will appear, otherwise "Hot" entries, recent changes and upcoming events are all that's listed in the sidebar. The remaining two thirds of the page is one entry field where you can write and format text and insert or attach images, audio and video files. To create a new page simply click the plus icon, add your content and Tag the page to help others find it. Wiki Server allows you to create as many Wikis as you like, so you might have a general school wiki, a wiki per department, per class group and even per student.
Using Blogs for student work
The blog feature is separate to the wiki interface, so students don't have to create a wiki, they can simply use a blog to upload their work. You can make each blog private between teacher and student, then the teacher can edit, amend and comment on each entry. It would be equally straight forward to, for example, give parents read only access and allow them to comment too.
Compatibility & mobility
Once Wiki Server is installed and users are created or synchronised with AD, administration by the teacher and use of all services by students is through a web-browser and is both Mac & Windows compatible. When it comes to Apple's mobile devices, iPod, iPhone and iPad users can access the Wiki to search and download content (e.g. homework resources) but currently they cannot edit or upload content. Rumour has it, this is set to change very soon and when this happens Wiki Server will have the power to revolutionise the way teachers and students communicate, interact and collaborate, on and off campus. Wiki Server will become a key component in achieving what is often referred to as "anytime anywhere learning".
Example Wiki
To give you a feel for how a Wiki might look, we've created an example based around a fictitious primary school project. The theme is Roman Britain and the premise is that students are researching and contributing towards a final website that will include a movie and podcast.
A cross curricular project covering history, science and art (N.B. You will need to accept the secure certificate).
https://wikiserver.solutions-inc.co.uk/groups/yearfourromanwebsitewiki/
Getting started
Getting started doesn't require a big budget, Wiki Server is included with Apple OSX Server and currently an unlimited client license for a school costs just £172. However, it needs to run on a server and the most cost effective solution for a small scale deployment is a Mac Mini server, currently around £700. As you would expect, there are also more robust and more scalable hardware options, these are based around Apple's Xserve technology and we can specify a system to suite you, whatever the scale. Normally within a day on-site, our technicians can take care of the implementation into your school network, familiarise your IT technicians with the back-end set-up and familiarise you with the simple administration interface, leaving you ready to go. If you would like a demonstration or generally to find out more, please contact our education team.
