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Review by Joe Dillon, Common Sense Education | Updated May 2013

Wikispaces

Powerful tool for creating collaborative websites

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • English Language Arts
Skills
  • Communication & Collaboration
  • Creativity
Grades This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.
7–12
Great for:
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (14 Reviews)
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

5 images
Video tours help beginners get creating.
Wikispaces is designed to be collaborative.
The creator of a wiki manages members’ access.
The all-powerful edit button.
Wikis grow with the addition of pages and files.

Pros: This simple tool is a great way for beginners and experts alike to publish and collaborate online.

Cons: Though the supports are there, beginners will most likely need a little guidance to get started.

Bottom Line: Wikispaces.com is a rare, collaborative Web tool that's both powerful and accessible.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

In the classroom, Wikispaces is best for collaborative projects. Wikispaces makes it simple for a teacher to invite a class to help create a website, for example, or for a group of kids to organize their own website. After you've created a site, you'll be able to invite helpers to join and pitch in with a few simple steps. On each page that’s created, Wikispaces makes a discussion board where you can share ideas about the page or comment on each other's work. Every change that's made on a wiki is recorded. By checking the revision history, users can see who's made changes to the site. One click will undo unwanted changes or put a page back to its original state.

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Standards:

Edit, save. Edit, save. Wikispaces.com is a simple platform where teachers and kids can take these baby steps to online creation and collaboration. The user-friendly wiki site is great for grade-school children and powerful enough to accommodate tech-powered educators. The websites you'll create in Wikispaces are organized with hyperlinks and searchable tags. For this reason, they're a terrific choice for teachers to use with students. As kids author Web content in a safe environment, they'll discover how the Web is organized, filtered, and sorted. About seven minutes of video tutorials on Wikispaces.com’s help page will enable beginners to create and share their Web creations with an audience.

Wikispaces asks for an email address when you create your account, but if a teacher creates the student accounts, no email is required. Creating a wiki is as easy as naming it and clicking Done. Inside a new wiki, you can edit your home page, add pages, or invite members to join your wiki. The edit button on each page reveals a few options. A menu of buttons lets you to insert pictures, create links to other pages, and more. If you save your changes often, you'll switch back and forth between the published page view and the editing view.

While Wikispaces.com is a great tool for folks making their first foray into Web creation, the websites will meet the needs of innovative teachers who need flexibility and functionality. The editor allows the easy use of widgets, so users can insert everything from Web calendars to YouTube videos. Here, Wikispaces.com is at its best, offering a list of Web tools you can try if you're not sure about how to create an online poll, for example. On the other hand, advanced users can enter HTML code from most any online tool. Wikispaces.com is a rare Web tool that is both powerful and accessible.

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Creating pages may not thrill kids initially. However, when they're invited to include widgets, pictures, and hyperlinks in their written work, kids will be compelled to plan, tinker, and create. 

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Students can learn how to create engaging web content as they link, tag, and organize their work to look like the Web texts they encounter online. As a collaboration tool, wikis help kids learn to work as a team.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

The video tutorials are a little hidden on the website. Once you find them, about seven minutes of viewing is enough to have students creating, linking, and sharing. For more advanced users, the help menu has answers to all questions.

Common Sense Reviewer
Joe Dillon Technology coordinator
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Writing

  • W.7.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.

  • W.8.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

  • W.9-10.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

  • W.11-12.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

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Teacher Reviews

(See all 14 reviews) (14 reviews)
Featured review by
Jennifer G. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Vista High School
Vista, United States
A GREAT way for students to use creative critical thinking skills in a self-directed manner to show what they know!
I absolutely love this tool because it is easy to navigate and create. Some students feel restricted by some of the nuances regarding formatting, but they definitely adapt. Because it can be collaborative, students can work together to formulate one website. Using Wikispaces is a great way to incorporate the ISTE Standards into our teaching. . .Try it!
Read full review

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