Wikis

Antoinette Lourens

Carnegie Library Leadership Academy

5th November 2010

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“Wiki”First Wikis appeared in the mid-1990s.

Hawaiian word which means “quick”

Simple online database

Web page/ collection of web pages

Fast, collaborative development of a website

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Anyone can access, contribute/ modify content

Wiki can be “protected” against editing

Work in progress

People with a common interest

Very, very simple to use

More about a “Wiki”

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Purpose of a Wiki

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What can a Wiki be used for?

Plan conferences, workshops, outingsBibliographiesBook reviewsNotes of meetingEditing a textbook

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Discuss issues, comment on items in news e.g. new virusList of “Who’s who?”Knowledge managementElectronic Guestbook etc.

What can a Wiki be used for? (cont.)

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http://shtmteacherswiki.pbworks.com/w/page/5814911/Using-wikis-for-your-subjects

Some Wiki jargon

WikiSquatting:- Using wiki as a personal web page

WikiFarm:- Server or an array of servers that provides hosting for multiple wikis. Wiki farms are also known as "hosted wiki service providers."

Wikify:- Create a link from one Wiki article to another Wiki article

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Search Engine for Wiki’swww.powerset.com

www.wiki.com

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Comparing Wikis

http://www.wikimatrix.org/

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TypesSemantic wikis

allow for storing data within wiki pages, in a way that can be queried elsewhere, both in other wiki pages and externally. Freebase and Semantic MediaWiki are two examples.

Enterprise wikis used internally by corporations, with a greater emphasis on features like

access control and integration with other software. Two proprietary wiki applications that gear themselves specifically to corporate users are Confluence and Socialtext.

Application wikis enhanced wiki that gives users the option to do lightweight end-user

programming within the wiki.Personal wikis

not intended for collaborative work, but for personal information organizing or content management.

Mobile wikis an extension of web-based wikis optimized for mobile devices, especially

mobile phones. This is done by providing a version of the web site with conservative HTML coding optimized for the limited function browsers on devices like the BlackBerry[4] or iPhone

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Create your own Wiki

MediaWiki http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki

Wikispaces http://www.wikispaces.com/

Wetpaint http://www.iterating.com/products/Wetpaint

pbWiki http://pbwiki.com

TWiki http://twiki.org/

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Tips

Plan carefullyThe tool must have a purpose Help you to work smarter & fasterTraining sessions membersNever give up!

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Useful Wiki normsRead the founder's description of why Wiki exists and what the intentions were Use your real name and write in a way others will understand. Never intentionally misrepresent or suppress other people's opinions. Be especially careful about deletion Unless they say otherwise, don't mess with people's home pages, except to leave them notes.

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Start your own Wiki

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Start your own wiki

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Click on EDIT and start creating your page

Add a link to your wiki

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View your Wiki and Save it

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To change settings or to invite members to your Wiki

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Change the “Look & Feel” of your Wiki

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Invite people to join your Wiki

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Invite people by their Wikispaces username or their e-mail address.

The invitation message can be customised

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Add tags to your page

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Create a new page.

•Click on New Page

•Name your page and add tags

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To start working on the new page click EDIT

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Upload photos onto the new page

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Save your new page

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Who may work on this Wiki?

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Keep updated on changes on your new page

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Real life example

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Add your contribution and Save the page

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Wikis at University of Pretoria

Veterinary Library’s Strategic planning http://vetstrategies.pbwiki.com/

UPSpace Wiki http://upspace.wikispaces.com/

The E-Steering Committee Wiki http://up-esteering.wikispaces.com/

Information Sources for the Build Environment school http://infolitbuiltenvironment.wikispaces.com

A wishlist for UPSpace users http://upspacewishlist.wikispaces.com/ 

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Help available

Very good explanatory video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-

dnL00TdmLY

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Examples

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Questions

antoinette.lourens@up.ac.za012 529 8008

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