Wikis
Steve Self, Librarian
http://library.austincc.edu/presentations/wikis/
Today's Agenda
- Introducing Wikis
- Looking at Examples of Wikis
- Creating Our Own Wiki
Throughout, we'll discuss using wikis as an instructional tool.
Ask questions!
What is a Wiki?
Wiki comes from a Hawaiian word meaning fast
A wiki is a group of web pages -- simple as that. But, unlike a static website, a wiki consists of many pages to which many people can contribute and edit content.
A short video from YouTube: Wikis in Plain English
The link for the Wikis in Plain English video from YouTube is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY
Locally Hosted Wikis
A wiki can be hosted locally -- you get the software and run it all from your servers or computers.Pros
- Very flexible
- You have total control
- Can be complicated to set up
- ACC doesn't currently host wikis on their servers
Remotely Hosted Wikis
Remotely hosted wikis reside out on the web.Pros
- Quick to set up
- No database programming knowledge necessary
- Not as flexible
(We'll be working with remotely hosted wiki systems today...)
Some Free Online Wiki Applications
- PBwiki
- Wetpaint (our example today)
- Wikipaces
Which Wiki is right for you? Find out at WikiMatrix
PBwiki: http://pbwiki.com/
Wetpaint: http://www.wetpaint.com/
Wikispaces: http://www.wikispaces.com/
The URL for Wikimatrix is http://www.wikimatrix.org
Wetpaint: http://www.wetpaint.com/
Wikispaces: http://www.wikispaces.com/
The URL for Wikimatrix is http://www.wikimatrix.org
Common Wiki Features
- Easy-to-edit
- History of page revisions is available
- Changes can be tracked by user
- Previous versions of pages can be restored
- Pages can be tagged for easy retrieval
- Pages can have discussions attached to them.
Examples of Wikis
- Wikipedia -- the online editable encyclopedia
- Wikiversity -- a community devoted to collaborative learning
- wikiHow -- the how-to manual you can edit
- Lostpedia -- a wiki for fans of the TV show
URLS for the links above:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Wikiversity: http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Main_Page
wikiHow: http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page
Lostpedia: http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Main_Page
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Wikiversity: http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Main_Page
wikiHow: http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page
Lostpedia: http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Main_Page
Practice: Creating Wiki Pages
For our first activity, we're going to go into a wiki and add a page. Some skills we'll learn:
- Creating a page
- Using a template to get started
- Adding tags to make our wiki searchable
Our wiki can be found at: http://techtrends2008.wetpaint.com
Practice: Searchign & Navigating Wiki Pages
Next, we're going to use some wiki features to navigate around our wiki. Some skills we'll learn:
- Searching within a wiki
- Using tags to label and find pages
- Working with tag clouds
Our wiki can be found at: http://techtrends2008.wetpaint.com
Practice 3: Editing Wiki Pages
Now, let's go in and change some of the pages that are already in the wiki.
- Making simple changes to a page
- Adding links to another page
- Tracking page changes
- Comparing versions of pages
- Moving pages around in the wiki
Our wiki can be found at: http://techtrends2008.wetpaint.com
Discussion: Blackboard vs. Wikis
Blackboard
- Most students/faculty use or have used Blackboard
- No signing up necessary
- Limited to Blackboard configuration
- Students have less control over content
Discussion: Blackboard vs. Wikis
Wikis
- Learning curve involved (not steep)
- Requires yet another thing to log into
- Very flexible in how documents are arranged.
- Students have more control over content
- Can be carried over from semester to semester
Credit Where Credit is Due
The software used to create this presentation was created by Eric Meyer:
S5: A Simple Standards-Based Slide Show System
http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/s5/