26 | ESSENTIAL TEACHER If you are using technology to improve teaching and learning, it is hard not to get excited about the possibilities of wiki software. Wikipedia as well as smaller, more focused wiki projects, such as Wikitravel, Wikibooks, or one of the many examples on the Meatball Wiki TourBus, may have you think- ing that if you can just tap into some of the energy surrounding wikis, your classes will be swept up in a wave of excitement (see Wiki Resources on page 27 for the wikis and tools mentioned in this article). Wiki enthusiasts think of wikis as an important tool to ensure that “students will not simply pass through a course like water through a sieve but instead leave their own imprint in the development of the course, their school or university, and ideally the discipline” (Holmes et al. 2001). We count ourselves as wiki enthusiasts but suggest a measure of caution. Though many successes have been reported (see, e.g., “The Wonderful World of Wiki,” Essential Teacher, December 2006), we have also observed and, indeed, experienced projects that have not gone as expected. If you are new to wikis, we sug- gest that you not plunge straight into projects with students but first become a wiki user yourself. Wikis are both gloriously simple and strangely subtle; by taking your time to make them work for you, you can become attuned to the numerous possibilities they offer while avoid- ing disappointment through uses that ask too much of students. Does Size Matter? Fundamentally, a wiki is a Web site that can be edited from any- where on the Internet, that keeps track of changes so you can revert to a previous version, and that allows for easy link making. The best- known wiki is Wikipedia. Anyone who has edited or authored an arti- cle will appreciate the power of an encyclopedia that, by harnessing the expertise of many thousands of peo- ple worldwide, has grown to nearly three times the size of the Encyclopedia Britannica (cf. Zandberg 2006). However, not all wikis are large, not all are open to contribu- tions by the public, and some are not even viewable by anyone other than the author. For many educational uses, small- er-scale wikis may be the way to go. Above all, realize that you do not have to use all the features of wikis. We offer a few projects here that can help you familiarize yourself with the different aspects of wikidom. Play in a Sandbox First, it is worthwhile to test-drive wiki software. Most public wikis offer a sandbox, where you can play without consequences. You can either try some of the major wiki software, such as PmWiki or Wikka Wiki, or some of the wikis listed at the beginning of this article. Practice making links, as this skill is at the heart of creating wikis with a flexible structure. And get accustomed to some of the markup conventions, such as creating headings or lists. Avoiding the Bleeding Edge of Wikis by Joseph Tomei and Richard S. Lavin Portal