Summary
Wikis are a great way to work collaboratively with your students (and for them to work with each other, too!). You probably know the most famous wiki of all – Wikipedia, which is an encyclopedia which can be edited and updated by pretty much anyone. A basic wiki tool is included in the new version of Blackboard – once you’ve added a wiki, you and your students can immediately start adding pages (which can include text, images, and file attachments) – and you can all read and edit each others’ pages, too. It’s a fantastic way to create information together.
Blackboard Wikis are different to the wikis provided by the Otago Wiki service. Blackboard Wikis are a more basic tool, and are only available inside Blackboard. Otago Wikis are a more advanced tool, and is completely independent of Blackboard.
Resources
- Blackboard Wikis (help.blackboard.com)
- Creating a Blackboard Wiki (video)
- Grading a Blackboard Wiki (video)
- Viewing a Blackboard Wiki Page History (video)
How to create a Blackboard Wiki
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Setting up a wiki is like any other content type (tests, blogs etc).
- Use the Course Menu + button to create a new Tool Link.
- Select Wikis from the drop down menu. Give the area a name – perhaps Wikis.
- You will now have linked to the Wikis area (this will display all Wikis)
- Click Create Wiki
- Give the wiki a name and set the various options. You can choose when it is available, whether or not students are allowed to edit it and if it is graded or not. Click Submit
Adding pages to a wiki
Adding a page to a wiki is easy – open up the wiki and find the Create Wiki page button. Once you have clicked it you will be given a new blank page to write on. You can add images, YouTube videos, link to other wiki pages and much more. The first wiki page you create in a new wiki will become the homepage.
Viewing your contributions
You can view your own contributions by clicking My Contribution this will provide a list of all the pages you have edited, you’re also able to see what you changed/added. Students are also able to track their contributions in the same way.
Note: Blackboard Wikis & Rollovers
As Blackboard Wikis contain material produced by students, they cannot be rolled over. When your paper is rolled over for the next year, your wiki will disappear.
How to turn the Wikis tool on/off:
If you have tried to use Wikis and found them missing, or received a ‘privileges’ error message , you may need to make the tool available again by following these instructions:
- Go to Control Panel > Customisation > Tool Availability
- Find Wikis in the list and check its ‘availability status’.
