What’s it all about?

Last month, as part of consolidating resources on the wikis in education site, I took all the educational wikis that users had added and divided them into categories. This will help if you are looking for examples of wiki use in the classroom or a group project to join. Now you can easily find the wiki example you are looking for on a sub page.

It was basically a lot of copying and pasting once I found out what the purpose of the wiki was. However, for many of the wikis finding out the purpose wasn’t as easy as I thought.

The importance of an “about” page goes beyond just stating the purpose of a site. It also gives validity to the information that is posted there. In a open web, where anyone can post anything, stating the purpose and the author of the site is very important. Many sites state the purpose on the home page while others never do. By creating an “about” page, you help your readers quickly understand the purpose of your site, who you are, and that your information is valid.

Classroom Tip:

Starting a new wiki in the classroom? What a great lesson having students come up with a purpose statement for the new site. How about the author? Have the students write a statement about who the author is.

“This site created by Mr. U’s 5th grade class during the 2008-2009 school year”

A simple statement such as this adds validity to the site by telling readers the age and time frame in which the information on the site was added. Use an about page on all sites you create and be wary of sites that you find on the Internet that are lacking one. Learning to validate information is a valuable skill we must teach our students today.

Picture Source: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/349497988_fb751a5e3a_m.jpg