People around the world have used Wikispaces since 2005. Until this past June, Wikispaces was a free host for technology in the classroom loved by those who knew what blended learning was before it became a buzzword. As of September 30, 2018, many classroom teachers and educational focus committees will have to say goodbye to a trusted collaborative resource. Now educators are engaged in conversations about where to host their collaborative learning networks.

For those of you who loved Wikispaces, similar options include Mediawiki, TikiWiki, or PBWorks. However, many teachers are getting comfortable with the ease of new platforms such as Moodle, Canvas, or Google.

When our TILE-SIG committee began conversations about a new website to replace Wikispaces, we spent hours discussing and researching the best options. We finally decided that starting our own Google account would allow us to set up everything we needed and provide free membership to our members. Not only do we now have a Gmail account, we have also archived our previous content in Google Drive, which can be shared just as collaboratively as Wikispaces once was. All of this is now easily linked to our Google Site.

So if you are also interested in “promoting technologies as tools for improving the quality of reading/language arts instruction and enhancing children’s interest in recreational reading,” then complete a membership form, check out our latest newsletter,  and explore our archives on our website. You too may find that trading Wikispaces for Google will be much less drama than a TLC episode.

Meg Rishel is an instructional ELA coach for Eastern York School District and the TILE-SIG newsletter editor. You can follow her on Twitter.

This article is part of a series from the International Literacy Association’s Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).