2.2 Wikis

Week 5, Module 2.2: 'Wikis'

Introduction
In this topic I'll find out about wikis, how they're made and what their uses are.

What are Wikis
Wikis are a great way to obtain more knowledge about a certain area. The term 'Wiki' comes
from the word 'fast' in Hawaiian but a backronym to this word means 'What I Know Is' and the key features include:

* Collaboration
* Creating and editing web pages
* Linking between pages
* Logging of changes
* restrictive use of html

Feature 1: Collaboration
The key element of a wiki, in my opinion is that it provides a space where multiple people can work on series of intertwined pages. There are two types of wikis though: a private wiki and open wiki. Private Wikis are limited to a specific group of users (for example in a workplace where a small team tackles the same issue together), while in open wikis anyone on the World Wide Web can help edit it (for example Wikipedia).

Feature 2: Editing a wiki
Editing in a wiki is done through a WYSIWYG editor which is basically a user friendly text interface.

Feature 3: Links
Originally Vannevar Bush's [link] idea of 'selection by association' was to have meaningful links [link], so if the word apples is linked, it will lead onto a page about apples. This is key as wikis do the same. This is the style used in wikis and can be seen used extensively in Wikipedia.

Feature 4: Logging the changes you make
With so many people potentially collaborating and editing wikis, a logging system is used to show whom edited what.

Feature 5: Controlled HTML
A selection of HTML commands are used in most Wikis (and even in blogger) but the knowledge of it isn't as necessary as a tool bar helps you select the appropriate style or font.

Making your own Wiki
Want to try creating a wiki, here are some websites that will help you make a private or public Wiki:
pbwiki
wetpaint
wikispaces

Activities 1: Mucking around with Wikitext
In this Activity, we basically follow a Wikipedia tutorial to make a 'sandbox' or practice page. The main essence of the tutorial was to learn to edit, format, create links and cite sources in order
that you can create your own Wikipedia pages.

Activities 2: Knowledge Sharing
The challenge of this activity was to edit a Wikipedia page with something you think was missing and check for changes over the week. I added citations to a place in Japan called Mitaka as I live their at the moment.