Text of Wikis - What, Why and How By Sukhdev Singh. What is a wiki? a special type of website that can be...
Wikis-What, Why and How BySukhdev Singh
What is a wiki?
a special type of website that can be edited by its readers.
Example of Wiki - Wikipedia
Key concepts of wikis Different wikis look differentformatting may differBasic concepts of wikis are:fast editingcollaborativeretains previous edits
A wiki is not just for Wikipedia
Other uses of a wikiProject management. Assign tasks, make a timeline, add notes, paste images and other media.Operations manuals. Things change so quickly these days that a printed version of a manual is outdated as soon as its printed and distributed.
continuedChecklists, Notes, Snippets and To-do lists. Put it on your wiki. Plan an event. Conferences, seminars, off-site meetings, parties events of all kinds have been planned with wikis, Multiple people can access the plans, you can create different sections for different planning areas, create checklists, add notes, ideas, images, contact info, and much more.
continuedFAQs. If you get a lot of questions about your work, or product, or just about yourself personally, you can keep an ever-growing FAQ to prevent having to repeat your answers too many times. Then just point people to your FAQ url.
CollaborationCollaboration. Wiki was originally used for collaboration in technical fields (programmers). You can work on a project or even just one document with another person or group of people or the entire Internet. Changes are made and tracked, and you can revert to previous versions if necessary.
KnowledgebasesWiki for knowledgebaseContent is keyword searchableContent can be organized by category to allow easy browsingAnyone can add/edit/read content regardless of locationRSS feeds available for new edits
Let us have a walk through a wiki
Let us choose a hosted service for our walkall you need is an email address and Internet ConnectivityPbwiki a Freemium wiki http://pbwiki.com/
Wiki Software
Now youre ready to pick a wiki!So many out there how to choose?Wiki Matrixhttp://www.wikimatrix.org/compare wiki features
Self-Hosted vs. Hosted Service
Self hosted:software is installed on a server computer at your locationHosted Service:software is accessed onlinedoes not involve local servers
Self-HostedPositives:more control/customization of wikiNegativesmay have system requirements (Apache, MySQL)will likely require some software installation experiencemay require some programming experience (PHP, Java)Some popular choices:MediaWiki,PhpWiki
Hosted ServicePositives:no software experience neededvery quick set-upNegatives:less control over wikiusually charged a fee for this serviceSome popular choices:PBwiki,SeedWiki
Related Resourceshttp://www.opal-online.org/5weeksBoeninger_files/frame.htm http://www.opal-online.org/5weeksHoffman_files/frame.htm http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki http://www.sociallibraries.com/course/week3#intro http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/courses/wiki/http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wiki.htm
