Wikispaces+Teacher+Help

=What is Wikispaces?= Wikispaces is a place where you can create a wiki, or a simple-to-use collaborative website, to use in your classroom and your school.

=How can I learn how to use Wikispaces?= Try our [|video tutorials]. They are a great way to get started.

=I hear you offer free Plus spaces (which are free with no advertising) to K-12 (primary and secondary) teachers. How do I sign up?= That's right. You can [|sign up here].

=I am already using Wikispaces and am a K-12 teacher. Can I take advantage of the free Plus wiki offer?= Sure. Go to your wiki, click on `Manage Wiki' then `Subscription'. At the bottom of the page, you can request a complimentary upgrade to our Plus plan. Certify that your wiki will be used exclusively for K-12 (primary and secondary) education, and we will notify you when we process your request. If you want to create more K-12 wikis, [|you can do so here].

=Does my wiki qualify for the free Plus wiki for K-12 education?= Our offer applies to any wiki that is used exclusively for K-12 educational use. K-12 means kindergarten through secondary school. It is available worldwide to teachers, students, and other educators. This offer is not available to universities and higher education. Our [|regular pricing] is designed so that our service is accessible to higher education and non-profits as well as individuals and companies. 

=How can I create accounts for my students?= If you are a K-12 educator and have registered your wiki with our free K-12 education Plus plan, you can create student accounts in bulk yourself. You can make up to 100 accounts at one time. To create accounts, just follow these steps:
 * 1) Navigate to your wiki.
 * 2) Select "Manage Wiki."
 * 3) Under People select "User Creator."
 * 4) Choose the wiki you would like to add the users to.
 * 5) You can enter the list as text or upload an excel or .csv file with usernames and passwords. E-mail addresses aren't required to create accounts. For more information on setting up the list of accounts, see our section on formatting your account list.
 * 6) The bulk user creator will guide you through the process of setting up your accounts. If you have any questions, send us an e-mail at help@wikispaces.com.

If you do not have a K-12 wiki, we can still create accounts for you. Just email help@wikispaces.com with a list of usernames, email addresses (if you have them - if you don't just leave them out), and passwords in the format described below and we'll create the accounts for you. =How do I format the list for bulk account creation?= To create accounts easily, format your list in the following manner with commas separating usernames, email addresses (if you have them - if you don't just leave them out), and passwords: code user1,email1@address.com,password1 user2,email2@address.com,password2 user3,email3@address.com,password3 code A few important notes that will help us create these accounts for you quickly: We have a large number of accounts on Wikispaces, so many combinations of first names, last names, and initials are already taken. It's much more likely all the accounts can be made as you ask if you add a school identifier to your students' usernames. For example, if your school is called John Smith High, instead of asking us for the usernames, //adam//, //james//, and //dom//, we recommend //jsh-adam//, //jsh-james//, and //jsh-dom//. Please make sure that usernames are at least 3 characters long (we allow letters, numbers, underscores _, or dashes -) and that passwords are at least 6 characters long. Finally, if you are sending us the list, make sure to let us know which wikis we should add them to as members.
 * Usernames**
 * Length of Usernames and Passwords**
 * Which Wiki?**

=My students already have accounts. Can I add them to my wiki?= Yes, if your students have already created accounts on Wikispaces, had accounts created for another wiki/class, or were added to the wrong wiki you can invite them to your wiki. To bulk invite them to your wiki just follow these steps:
 * 1) Navigate to your wiki.
 * 2) Select "Manage Wiki."
 * 3) Under People select "Invite People."
 * 4) Enter the students' usernames or e-mail addresses (if available).
 * 5) Press Send.

The next time the student logs into their account or checks their e-mail they will be able to view and accept the invitation. Once the invitation is accepted they will become a member of your wiki.

Note that you can only send 100 invitations every 24 hours.

=Is there a way to disable the messaging system on Wikispaces?= There is no way to disable the messaging system. However, as an educator, you have a couple of options.
 * 1) You can change the messaging preferences for each of your students' accounts by logging into the account and going to "My Account." There you can set "Receive Private Messages From" to "No One." Follow this link to learn more about our messaging system.
 * 2) You and your school or district can check out Wikispaces Private Label. Your community will get their own separate wiki environment in which you can create an unlimited number of users and spaces. You will have the option to turn off the messaging system for the entire site. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, you can read more at www.wikispaces.com/site/privatelabel.

=My students are editing the same page at the same time and some changes are lost. Do you have any advice?= We have a section of help that fully covers this here. If you still have problems, e-mail us at [|help@wikispaces.com].

=Where can I see some examples of other teachers using Wikispaces?= Have a look over here. It's a wiki so you can contribute your own examples and ideas. You may also want to check out the [|Wiki Walk-Through] from TeachersFirst. =I'm presenting at a conference. Do you have any material for me?= Giving a talk? Here is a presentation we put together that you can use. Feel free to edit and customize it as you like. [|Teacher Presentation PowerPoint] [|Teacher Presentation OpenOffice]

Below is a Getting Started handout you can print out to give to your colleagues. We introduce how to create a Wikispaces educational wiki, begin editing your page, create accounts for your students, and more. [|Getting Started Handout - 2 Page] [|Getting Started Handout - 3 Page]

Let us know what you think about the materials and what else you'd like to see here at [|help@wikispaces.com].

=How can I help spread the word about the free offer for K-12 education?=

Copy the HTML code below and paste it into your blog, website, or wiki to watch our progress toward 100,000 educational wikis and help others learn about Wikispaces in the classroom. code   code