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wikis
info wiki wiki! (wiki = quick in Hawaiian)
Here are some basics from writingwiki.org.
Get our handout for evaluating Wikipedia articles.
Here's the education info page for classroom Wikipedia projects.
Wikis are a quick and easy way to build a knowledge base that's constantly changing. (You're reading one right now!) For example, popular culture and “new” topics are perfect for wikis as the definitions themselves evolve. The community can use a wiki as a natural way of building a consensus among a group of people.
The evils of Wikipedia
There’s a lot of fear about letting students cite from Wikipedia because articles can be edited by anyone… but this does not make it a worthless resource. It actually works as an excellent teaching tool to help students understand the construction of knowledge. Many folks follow their topics so closely that article vandalism can literally be reversed in seconds! There are many articles where senior editors have locked down or put notices on articles that are rapidly developing, are controversial, or do not adhere to community quality standards. The real gems are always at the bottom of a topic page: the References section at the bottom of every page. Don’t cite? Then expect to have your article in moderation and fixed by the many users dedicated to creating a quality resource. The “neutral point of view,” or NPOV, is highly prized in the Wikipedia community.
Go Further
Wesley Fryer's post on Oklahoma history and racism has some nice observations and musings on the role of wikis in teaching history; here's an excerpt:
Examples of Wikis:
Best Practices:
Joyce Valenza's Information Fluency
Carolyn Foote's Connected Libraries
Here are some basics from writingwiki.org.
Get our handout for evaluating Wikipedia articles.
Here's the education info page for classroom Wikipedia projects.
- Wiki –A hybrid webpage/knowledge base. “A wiki is computer software that allows users to easily create, edit and link web pages. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites, and are increasingly being installed by businesses to provide affordable and effective Intranets. Ward Cunningham, developer of the first wiki, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work". One of the best-known wikis is Wikipedia.” (from Wikipedia’s entry “wiki,” 11:33, 22 October 2007)
Wikis are a quick and easy way to build a knowledge base that's constantly changing. (You're reading one right now!) For example, popular culture and “new” topics are perfect for wikis as the definitions themselves evolve. The community can use a wiki as a natural way of building a consensus among a group of people.
The evils of Wikipedia
There’s a lot of fear about letting students cite from Wikipedia because articles can be edited by anyone… but this does not make it a worthless resource. It actually works as an excellent teaching tool to help students understand the construction of knowledge. Many folks follow their topics so closely that article vandalism can literally be reversed in seconds! There are many articles where senior editors have locked down or put notices on articles that are rapidly developing, are controversial, or do not adhere to community quality standards. The real gems are always at the bottom of a topic page: the References section at the bottom of every page. Don’t cite? Then expect to have your article in moderation and fixed by the many users dedicated to creating a quality resource. The “neutral point of view,” or NPOV, is highly prized in the Wikipedia community.
Go Further
Wesley Fryer's post on Oklahoma history and racism has some nice observations and musings on the role of wikis in teaching history; here's an excerpt:
Some librarians have strong, negative opinions about WikiPedia, in my view, because they do not understand WikiPedia. Like so many other topics and issues relating to digital technologies, they may have heard “bad headlines” about WikiPedia and not yet explored in depth (as all advocates for media literacy and information fluency should, of course) the veracity of those claims. To address possible misconceptions about WikiPedia, I often recommend that people watch Jimmy Wales’ presentations “How a ragtag band created Wikipedia” on TEDTalks as well ashis longer (and more in-depth) discussion about WikiPedia on Fora.TV from April 2006 titled, “Vision: Wikipedia and the Future of Free Culture.”
Examples of Wikis:
- The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
- Make a free, password-protected wiki as easily as a peanut butter sandwich. Pay a nominal fee and gain control of contributor functionality. NO ADS.
- WikiSpaces (http://www.wikispaces.com/)
- Another great space for your wiki. Create a space where you can “edit together.” Has ads, but functions most like the MediaWiki.org software.
- A reusable non-linear personal web notebook.
WetPaint (http://www.wetpaint.com)
Has ads, but gives you total control of contributor functionality.
Best Practices:
Joyce Valenza's Information Fluency
Carolyn Foote's Connected Libraries
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Latest page update: made by erindowney
, Sep 23 2008, 12:03 AM EDT
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