Publishing Web pages has never been easier. Long gone are the days of being forced to learn HTML and complicated web code. Commercial wiki software makes publishing a breeze. Although the College of Wooster is currently piloting a campus-wide wiki solution (Confluence), members of the campus community may wish to investigate external wiki publishing solutions. Below are a few free wiki solutions that members of instructional technology have used for past projects.
PbWorks
PBworks (formerly PBWiki) hosts more classroom wikis than anyone else in the world, and lets you create a simple, secure wiki in about 60 seconds -about as easy as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Pbworks allows you to designate your wiki public or private or anywhere in between. A basic academic wiki for 100 users is free. Other plans start as low as $8 a month per user.
WetPaint
Wetpaint lets you build a rich, online community around the whatever-it-is that you’re really into. Utilizing the best features of wikis, blogs, forums and social networks, Wetpaint mixes everything you need so you can create, collect, and organize content on your own social website. Educational sites on Wetpaint are free. Be sure to send an email to qualify for the ad-free version.
Wikipedia
Perhaps the most popular wiki in the world, students use wikipedia on a regular basis researching topics for class. What many students and faculty do not recognize is how easy it is to edit entries. Assignments where students create or edit wikipedia articles can be very sucessful as students interact outside the “campus bubble”. Go ahead, edit The College of Wooster’s page. Just click “edit” add some new content, and click “save”.