What is the Wiki Tool?
Wiki Tool is a tool, which provides wikis in Blackboard. . A wiki is a website that is collaboratively authored by a group of users. An entire class or groups can add text, graphics, files and links to build the content of the site, if these settings are enabled by instructorsWhy might I want to use the tool?
With the Wiki Tool in Blackboard, the wiki can be shared only between members of the class or it can be configured to be shared only between the individual student and instructor or between specific student groups and the instructor.
Instructors can use a wiki in courses for:
- Online projects
- Shared course resources
- Assessing group participation
View the wiki tool demo movie (Flash required)
Types of Wikis within Bb
The Central Course Wiki
The Central Course Wiki site is found within the Tools area of your course. As the instructor, you need to configure and make it available. This Wiki can be used for entries shared with the entire class and the instructor. You can access the Central Course Wiki site by selecting Tools from the main course menu and then choosing Wiki from the menu.
- Users can create a new page that includes text formatting, external links, embedded images and attached files. These new pages can be linked from the main or “home” page of the wiki.
- The wiki can be browsed like a self-contained web page. Participants in the course can leave comments on individual pages.
- At any time, participants can edit the page they are viewing.
Advanced options
When instructors create a Wiki in a content area of the course, an entry in the gradebook can be automatically generated so that participation in the Wiki can be included in the student grades.
Access to a Wiki can be controlled by the instructor. For example, the instructor can limit access to groups already created in the Blackboard control panel or to selected users.
Other options for wikis include allowing students to edit the pages, allowing students to delete or “purge” individual pages, controlling who can comment on pages, and limiting access to the wiki for a specific time period.
Participation details can also be viewed for a student in the course showing pages they have edited and a history of the changes made.
More help
You can get more ideas about designing class activities with Wikis and other Blackboard tools by talking with a consultant with the Center for Instructional Technology; email cit@duke.edu to set up an appointment.
For more information on setting up and using the Wiki Tool in your Blackboard course,
- see the step-by-step online documentation at http://www.learningobjects.com/training.jsp--looking for Teams LX, or
- click on the question mark icon at the upper right corner of each wiki page, which will take you to the Users Guide for Teams LX.