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You Can Make A Wiki, Too
A guide to creating a wiki of your own
What is a Wiki?
o A Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any web browser.
o Examples:oWikipedia linko SupWiki link
Uses for Wikis
o Three possible uses for a wiki:o Displaying an established reference material
oA series of searchable web pageso Fully realized wiki reference
o Information formatted with wiki-browsing in mindo Collaboration tool
o Less about organization of information, more about sharing and accessibility of information
My Own Wiki: Where do I start?o First, a choice: Hosted vs. Software
o Hosted means the wiki is maintained and run by an external website, and is provided as a service, like Blogger or Wordpress
o Pros:o Minimal setup. Can start using almost immediately.
o Cons:o Some are free, but have ads or limited usability. Others cost
money.o Information is stored off-site, and is “at the mercy” of the
company.o Not as customizable as installing your own.
My Own Wiki: Where do I start?o First, a choice: Hosted vs. Software
o Software refers to a set of files hosted on your university’s servers.
o Pros:oAs dependable, reliable, and secure as your university's
web pagesoHighly customizable to suit your needs
o Cons:o Takes time to set up: not as simple as uploading a web
pageo Your university's web servers might not have the necessary
features installed
My Own Wiki: Where do I start?
o First, a choice: Hosted vs. Softwareo Hosted preferable for:
o Short term projectsoProjects that need a wiki immediately
o Software preferable for:o Information you want available permanently
My own wiki: A Vocabulary Primer
o Some vocabulary that will be helpful:oWiki Engine
o The set of files, or software, that “runs” the wikio Page History
oA list of all edits made to a page, possibly including the time, date, and author of the edits.
My own wiki: A Vocabulary Primer
o Some vocabulary that will be helpful:oWYSIWYG (pronounced whizzy-wig)
o Stands for What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get, and refers to the page editing interface.
oA WYSIWYG interface shows changes to text in realtime, like Microsoft Word.
My own wiki: Choosing A Wiki For you
o There are over 100 of options to choose from! How do you begin to find what wiki will serve your needs?
o The WikiMatrix link
My own wiki: Setting up my wiki
o Step 1: Make a Friendo A student, a colleague, a friend, someone from IT,
someone comfortable withoProgrammingoWeb page editing or creationoOr Computing in general
o Show them the Wiki Setup GuideoMay take an afternoon, may take two weeks or
more
My own wiki: Setting up my wikio Step 2: Call IT
o Explain what you are trying to do, then find outoWhat scripts, or server software you can runoWhere you would upload your software
o Will likely be different than where you upload your web pages
o Step 3: Upload it!o Once uploaded, you may be able to visit your wiki
and start playing with it, or it may not work at alloMost all wikis, before they’ll work, need to be
configured
My own wiki: Configuring my wiki
o Configuration is different for every wikio Refer to the wiki’s documentationo Use your help through this process
o Things to decide during configuration:o Permissions and passwords
oPasswords to edit? To view?o Any ascetic changes
oPmWiki: an example of skinning. link
Making your wiki work
o A wiki is a tool for sharing information. o It will only be useful if the content is
o Clear,o Concise, ando Current.
o The hard work: o Deciding how to present your informationo Achieving the 3 C’s
Making your wiki work: Organization
o How to organize information for: a collaborative wikio A Hub System: a main page listing every page
createdoPerfect for a small project, 20 pages or less.oOnce project grows beyond that, create sub-categories
that act as hubs
Making your wiki work: Organization
o How to organize information for: a traditional reference wikio Table of Contents system: a main page listing
every page by titleo Each page may be a topic, a chapter, etc.oPages presented linearly, each linking to previous and
nextoOptional: keyword linking
Making your wiki work: Organization
o How to organize information for: a wiki-styled reference toolo Series of hubs + keyword linking
oMain page hub to give visitors a place to starto Larger topics will present themselves as natural hubsoOrganization structure will develop over timeoKeyword Linking is important
o Offers points of explorationo Connects topics
Making your wiki work: Tips
o Further tips on presenting information:o Keep individual pages short
o Shorter pages are easier to read, easier to digesto If you can’t keep it short, keep it well formatted:
oDivide sub-topics upoKeep sup-topics separatedo Link to sup-topics from the top of the pageo SupWiki examples link
Making your wiki work: Tips
o Further tips on presenting information:o Link as many keywords as you can
o Search for topic titles, important concepts or itemso You will see a list of pages that has the word searchedo Link each of those words back to the main topic that
addresses ito Keep your writing as clear and concise as possible
o If re-writing information specifically for a wikio Draw on other wikis for inspirationo Clear your mind, imagine you’re a panicked first day trainee, and
re-read your writing
What a wiki can not do:
o A wiki will not train your staffo A wiki will not organize your information for
youo A wiki will not keep itself up to dateo A wiki is not a substitute for poorly written
content
What Only a wiki can do:
o Offer you the opportunity to review and re-organize your information in a way that people are used to finding and viewing it
o Offer everyone instant, searchable access to your information
o Make updating your information easier, as you can search for every mention of outdated information
Thank you!
o References for you:o This presentation is available at
www.lehigh.edu/~rdm3, along with a written wiki setup guide.
