Wikis

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A Wiki is a collaborative publishing tool that allows all users to edit any page, with full freedom to edit, change, or delete the work of previous authors. The term “wiki” is the Hawaiian word for “quick.” The distinguishing features of a typical Wiki are a Web browser interface for editing text and a supporting user community. Wikis were developed by Ward Cunningham, and his Wiki Wiki website is located at http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?WikiWikiWeb.

All Wiki content is a work-in-progress. Wikis are collaborative forums where people can share ideas and record any consensus reached on difficult issues, along with rebuttal. The Wiki content changes as people come and go, as experience develops, and as opinions change. Wikis are usually organized around a topic or theme.

Wikis can be a powerful collaborative publishing tool, but the new Wiki user may experience no sense of context or sense of relationship with prior or following content. Wiki publishing follows certain writing and editing conventions (see http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?OneMinuteWiki):

Navigation. Page titles are WikiWords (mixed-case words). Click any page title to see a list of all pages that link to the page. Every WikiWord in text is a link to a page with that title.
Editing Existing Pages. Click the EditText link at the bottom of the page, then edit the text. When done, click the Save button at the top of the editing page.
Adding New Pages. To add a new page, either click the question mark that follows an unlinked WikiWord or in the browser's URL field replace the text following the question mark with edit= and hit Enter (or do whatever you do to go to a URL). Either of these methods displays an editing page with the text “Describe here.” Edit the page content as desired and save it.
Deletion Conventions. To permanently delete a page, replace its text with the word “delete.” Any page exists until someone else seconds the deletion. Unseconded deletions can be undone by using the EditCopy. Seconded deletions can usually be undone by using the HistoryPages.
Making Yourself Known. Set up a UserName that will show up in RecentChanges. Create your own WikiHomePage. Use a WikiSignature when appropriate.
Security. There is no security. Anyone can edit and delete content. It is very easy for someone to use somebody else's name. Do not assume that signatures have any significance other than simple politeness.
Other Advice. Read GoodStyle and WikiEditingCustoms before editing or adding pages. Also read various pages to get the feel of Wiki before you start making changes. Follow WikiSocialNorms if you want to be respected by other Wikizens.

The oldest Wiki is the Portland Pattern Repository at http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?PortlandPatternRepository, which is used primarily for discussing software engineering, programming, and related issues. The largest Wiki to date is Wikipedia. Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.com) is a multilingual project to create a complete and accurate free content encyclopedia. The project was started in January 2001 and is currently working on well over 150,000 articles in the English version. Wikipedia could be a great collaborative project for older students. Students could collaborate and publish on almost any topic or subject. Students can research and submit articles for editing and publication in the online encyclopedia. Additionally, students can edit existing articles and, of course, their articles may be edited by others. The use of Wikis in educational settings will no doubt increase because of the simplicity and flexibility of Wiki environments.

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