What+to+do+on+the+wiki

 What to do on the Michiana STEM wiki? Good question! Wikis are for sharing things and working together. What should you share? How should you work? That's up to you. This wiki is a collaboration tool for a community that in many ways is defining itself. What would you like the Michiana STEM community to look like? Find ways to help make it so, here. Some suggestions: toc

=Create a school page.= Link it from the Google map on the home page--see the "here's how" video--or ask for help doing so.) On that page, you can **create a list of teachers in your school**, and **each teacher's name can be hyperlinked to his or her own wiki home page**, where stories from the classroom, projects, needs, links to resources, etc can all be posted. If a teacher already has an active web page, place a link to that page from the teacher wiki home page. =Create a grade level or subject page.= Kindergarden teachers have a lot in common. So do chemistry teachers. Grade- and subject-appropriate resources, ideas, opportunities, challenges, common projects all could be entered on these pages. (Too much for one page? Just put the subject areas separately on a page, and hyperlink to a new wiki page. Don't know when there will be too much? Doesn't matter--start one way, and someone will reorganize down the road. Nothing ever gets lost, ONCE SAVED, on a wiki.) =Create a projects page.= Think we need an informal science center in South Bend? How about universal internet access for students at home? Got your own favorite? Then let's get busy. Start a projects page, gather collaborators, ideas, contacts...and attention. Let's think in public, and act in public. =Make a "here's how" screencast.= It's a nice thing to do to show others how you did what you did. (We're teachers, right?) Screencasting with Jing makes that easy. Just download and install Jing, and then once you find yourself doing anything you're pretty comfortable doing, just record it with Jing and post a link to the recording--Jing stores the recording online--on the "Here's How" page. There's a "Here's How" video on that page which will show you how, if you like. Or just try it:) =Clean up our wiki neighborhood.= Help us follow good practices. Like what? Give credit where credit is due. Link like it's your job. Show others how you did it. Show appropriate respect for privacy. Make it easier to use. Make it scalable. Make it beautiful. Be gracious. Help others. =Use the discussion tab.= Offer congratulations. Ask a question. Reinforce a point. Who will read it? Anyone who chose to receive notifications for that discussion thread, or who thought to check the discussion tab for some page of interest. =Tell a story (with pictures!)= Had a great classroom moment? A priceless professional development opportunity? Share it with the class. Create a "Stories" page, and link it from the home page--or do it in any other way you like. You can edit it later, or let someone else beat you to it. Use pictures when you can--worth a thousand words a piece--or video (worth a thousand pictures.) =Embed a Flickr photostream.= (Know how? Do it, and create a "here's how" screencast to show others.) =Embed your blog.= (Screencast this, too:) =Add to this list.= (You get the idea.)