WIKI-mania

So you probably know about wikis by now. They're becoming ever-popular, especially with the emergence of Wikipedia. In fact, when I was in India lecturing on the changing of education and technology trends, the topic of wikis came up, and many of them have even used wikis. Although, there's always a handful of gasps when I explain to them that anyone can get on Wikipedia and make changes, add information...even junior-highers with a sense of humor. But I will say, that I use Wikipedia daily to find out little tidbits, or to get background information on something. Latest Wikipedia searches: quipu, Lost (2004 TV Show), origin of cricket, history of the audience wave. You can't find that kind of stuff in a regular encyclopedia.
Anyways, all that to say, I found a cool educational application for the use of wikis. As the technology goes, a wiki is a website that allows anyone viewing the site to make changes and add information. Basic features of wikis also allow you to look back at previous versions of the website to see what it looked like before (or to revert back to an old version of the website if something got accidentally or intentionally deleted). It also has a place for discussions and for people to leave comments or suggestions for the website.
A common use by teachers is to allow students to work in groups to produce a website or collaborate on information. For example, if you are researching the ancient Inca civilization, one student could go on the wiki and post some information on their use of quipu as a memory-device. Then another could get on later and make spelling corrections, and add information about their developments in art and gold crafting. Then another student in the group could get on later and post pictures.
After a couple of these activities with my students, I figured out a cool way to use it with our yearbook staff. We had a problem with losing copy or interview quotes that staff members were working on. OR someone would conduct an interview, and then be sick for a couple of days, and we couldn't work on their yearbook spread without their notes. So, we started our own wiki. I adjusted the preferences so that only approved people on the yearbook staff could view the site, and then created wiki pages for each of the sections of the yearbook. When someone wrote an article on the basketball team, they posted it on the wikipage. Then myself, or the copy editor could get on and make corrections, suggestions, etc. Then the basketball photographer could get on and read the copy to see who they needed to photograph, or to find out who to interview or NOT to interview to get more quotes. It was pretty great because we could work on it remotely, and simultaneously.
If you've got any other applications for wikis, I'd love to hear them!