What is a wiki?

A wiki is a type of Web 2.0 tool. It’s like a webpage with a collaborative twist. Members of a wiki can add, edit and change the document anytime, anywhere.Want a simple explanation of how wikis work? - in this case to plan a camping trip. Video by Common Craft.
Download Video: Posted by cmantin at TeacherTube.com.http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=b7a75a3ce09d40b497f6 

Wiki Video Tutorials:

Here is a link of short videos on how to get the most out of Wikispaces

A sample of a Student Wiki Webquest: this is a great example how 7th grade students use wiki in a history class.
http://blog.wikispaces.com/2008/02/a-classroom-wiki-webquest.html

Create accounts students using wikispaces without using student e-mails! If you don’t want your students to have to create accounts themselves, 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 following format and they’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 create these accounts for you quickly:

Usernames: 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 Space?: Finally, make sure to let them know which space they should add them to as members.

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.