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=iiWiki for Teachers and Staff=


The iiwiki (Wikispaces) software is provided by the Illawarra Institute and can be used by teachers to create a classroom website to publish their work and co-author classroom media and activities (including video and audio).
Institute Leaders, Managers and support staff are also welcome to use iiWiki spaces for communications, discussions, meetings and projects.

Check out the <span class="wiki_link">Faculty iiWiki's</span> for information and links to Teacher, Class & Institute projects.

==Student Information==
**Students are advised to go to [[http://wikispaces.com/|http://wikispaces.com]] where they can create their own personal wiki for free!** **Click [[termsofuse:Student Information|here]] for <span class="wiki_link">student information</span> including the terms of use for using technology at the Illawarra Institute.**

==First off, what's a Wiki?==

Watch this short movie and you'll find out!

[[media type="custom" key="1531801"]]
[[image:wiki_tour.JPG width="486" height="173" align="right"]]



The link below will take you to a selection of short videos that explains the features of wikispaces; select from the drop down arrow to select a tour.
[[http://www.wikispaces.com/site/tour#introduction]]









This Flash Video requires an 'Adobe Flash' player installed on your machine. One can be downloaded from [[http://www.download.com/FLV-Player/3000-2139_4-10467081.html|Download.com]]. Alternatively, you can watch it at [[http://blip.tv/file/246821|Wikis in plain English video by commoncraft]] along with other quality resources.

Watch this short screencast to see an example of using a wiki for teaching and assessment.

[[media type="custom" key="1505977"]]


==Need help on how to use wikispaces?==

The Wikispaces help pages are an excellent resource, as is the Help Desk. See the help pages at http://help.wikispaces.com/ which has easy to use guides on everything from embedding media to rss feeds on your pages.
== ==
==What's great about wikis?==
* Students and teachers can share information about a topic easily in one central place
* Everyone can participate
* Students can actively construct their own learning in a medium they find interesting and interactive
* Students (and teachers) don't have to be tech-savvy
* Participants can see the development of their ideas over time
* A student-centred source of information & knowledge
* Encourages students to engage with each other in a non-threatening environment
* Promotes pride in accomplishments (publishing on the net for all to see)
* Allows for easy access to related and relevant information through web links
* Allows for knowledge building
* Can be used for presentations, brainstorming & concept mapping, reflections and thoughts, publishing course resources & providing reading material, revision of material and version control, commenting and discussion, authoring, summarising, creating a bibliography...
* Stimulates the desire to write //Note: Kindly shared from// [[http://www.nciwiki.com.au/|North Coast Institute Wiki]]

Click [[http://lrr.dlr.det.nsw.edu.au/Web/wiki_cases/wikis_cases_00.htm|here]] for a series of audio interviews with VET teachers about how they use wikis in teaching and learning.
Click [[http://lrr.dlr.det.nsw.edu.au/Web/cocreation_guide/cocreate_gde_00.htm|here]] for a learner guide for teachers with practical advice and tips for using blogs and wikis in teaching and learning.

==Teachers and staff, want your own iiWiki?==

Simply read the iiWiki Guidelines and fill in an application form. Click [[http://creator.zoho.com/illawarrainstitute/vle_application_forms/#Page:iiWiki|here]].<span style="color: #006699;"> </span>