1. 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.

2. How can I learn how to use Wikispaces?


Try our video tutorials. They are a great way to get started.

3. 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.

4. I am already using Wikispaces and am a K-12 teacher. Can I take advantage of the free Plus space offer?


Sure. Go to your space, click on `Manage Space' then `Subscription'. At the bottom of the page, you can request a complimentary upgrade to our Plus plan. Certify that your space 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 spaces, you can do so here.

5. Is there an easy way to create accounts for all of my students?


Yes, 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 below.
  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.
 user1,email1@address.com,password1
 user2,email2@address.com,password2
 user3,email3@address.com,password3

A few important notes that will help us create these accounts for you quickly:

Usernames
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 we can make all the accounts 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.

Length of Usernames and Passwords
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.

Which Wiki?
Finally, make sure to let us know which wikis we should add them to as members.

6. 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.

7. Do I qualify for the free Plus spaces for K-12 education offer?


The offer applies to any space 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

external image vnd.ms-powerpoint.png Teacher Presentation PowerPoint
external image x-zip.png 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 space, begin editing your page, create accounts for your students, and more.

external image pdf.png Getting Started Handout - 2 Page
external image pdf.png Getting Started Handout - 3 Page