Web+2.0+Wikis

Definition
Probably the best known wiki is [|wikipedia] and the definition of a wiki from that resource is (at the time of writing, of course):

"A **wiki** is a page or collection of [|Web pages] designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified [|markup language]. Wikis are often used to create [|collaborative] [|websites] and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia [|Wikipedia] is one of the best-known wikis. Wikis are used in business to provide [|intranet] and [|Knowledge Management] systems. [|Ward Cunningham], the developer of the first [|wiki software], [|WikiWikiWeb], originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work". "Wiki" ( [|/wiːkiː/] ) is a [|Hawaiian] word for "fast". "Wiki Wiki" is a [|reduplication]. "Wiki" can be expanded as "What I Know Is", but this is a [|backronym]. "

The founder of Wikipedia is Jimmy Wales. [|Jimmy Wales on the birth of Wikipedia video] from [|TED.com] [|Watch anonymous Wikipedia edits in (close to) real-time].

Commoncraft's Video about Wetpaint wikis:
media type="youtube" key="F7BAU2XX5Ws&rel=1" height="355" width="425"

Commoncraft has [|another video] about wikis, but the one above makes a stronger case.

Advantages and Disadvantages
Most wikis have built-in functionality to There are lots of options for using wikis that are free or of low cost.
 * modify web pages using either a visual editor or the markup language editor
 * track all changes made to the pages
 * revert to a previous version of a page
 * discuss the content of a page
 * receive notifications of changes to pages (by email or RSS)
 * manage security for authors
 * search
 * make pages visible to search engines
 * report statistics

Some typical drawbacks of using wiki software are:
 * only one person at a time can edit a page
 * limited ability to customize the look and feel of the pages (can result in an unprofessional look)
 * it's easy for wikis to live beyond a project's life, to become orphaned, or to live as a sounding board for half-formed, unsure, and speculative ideas
 * A wiki can quickly get messy, and you may need to perform routine maintenance.
 * if externally hosted, a loss of control (e.g., use of advertising)
 * lack of import/export options - if the page is ultimately going to be in another form (e.g. a Word document), consider using an alternative

Some Sites which Host Wikis
[|wikispaces] - be sure to sign up for a K-12 site to avoid ads [|wetpaint] - can request ad-free (see http://wikibasics.wetpaint.com/) pbworks

Alternatives
If you want to be able to work on the document at the same time as your collaborators, think about using [|Google Docs] or Etherpad.

media type="youtube" key="muVUA-sKcc4" height="344" width="425" Other alternatives include generating standard Web 1.0 web pages, using professional tools like Microsoft Sharepoint, or using Change Tracking in documents.

Some Examples of Wikis for Teachers
[|Web 2.0 in Education (UK)] - has a very extensive list of tools for teachers [|Charlotte Area Math Educators Wiki] Tapping Into the Collective Intelligence of the Read/Write Web in Education Learning Network - a page created as a result of a request to the Personal Learning Networks of three presenters

Some Examples of Wikis for Students
[|Mr. Mitchell's and Mr. Sampson's MHF4U Wiki] [|Welker's Wikinomics, winner of the 2007 EduBlog Awards "Best Educational Wiki" award, for students and teachers of Economics]

Some Resources
[|Clay Shirky's Talk to Web 2.0 Conference] - The Cognitive Surplus: Gin, Sitcoms and Wikipedia media type="custom" key="3091062"

[|Eight Ways to Use School wikis] Vicki Davis' Slideshare about wiki in the classroom SITMO [|Equation Editor] for web pages, blogs and wikis. Create the equation, download the image and insert it into the page. media type="custom" key="4569754" To add this to a wiki page, go to Embed Widget (the TV icon) | Other HTML and enter the code from the SITMO site.

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