Something Wiki This Way Comes


Wiki's in Plain English - a Great Vid!

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What's a Wiki?

A wiki is a web site that lets any visitor become a participant: you can create or edit the actual site contents without any special technical knowledge or tools. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection. A wiki is continuously “under revision.” It is a living collaboration whose purpose is the sharing of the creative process and product by many. One famous example is Wiki-pedia, an online encyclopedia with no “authors” but millions of contributors and editors. The word "wiki" comes from Hawaiian language, meaning "quick" or "fast."

The Difference between a Wiki and a Blog (from a chat i had a while back with Adam F. of wikispaces at Tappedin.org)

"The simple answer is that a blog is like a journal. It's great if you want to have an ongoing dialogue or discussion. Say, if the kids are keeping a daily diary about their homework, or about any topic. A wiki, however, is less about new content every day, and more about evolving the same content over time.
So for example, on a wiki, you could have a student post an essay, and then another student can make some additions and corrections, and another, and another, and over time the essay improves and becomes the work of the whole class.

"Blogs are about communicating, wikis are about getting work done, or working together"

So the long-time debate about what is a blog and what is a wiki can hopefully be put to rest.

Why use a wiki rather than a web page or a blog? Wiki's are a best practice of the Web 2.0 read/write technology and they are EASY to use! On this page will explore the uses of a wiki, how to create one, customizing its appearance, and the ease of posting to a wiki rather than the traditional web page. Discussion will also include using wiki's in the classroom safely with students for collaboration projects and literary conversations, and as an ongoing professional development piece you can use with your teachers and staff.

And has the Wiki changed everything we ever did in web design? it has for me! Here's a discussion i started a few years ago:

Does the Wiki replace web design?

i asked this question on my iWeb Electronic Portfolio....and later on this wikipage which drove me crazy for about 40 min before i remembered how to fetch the updated html up to my county's webserver....cursing under my breath in high school Russian (don't ask!) i was wondering why i couldn't remember how to DO it as smoothly and the answer came to me...ever since NECC Atlanta i've been going Wiki-crazy! all my published pieces have gone here or my other wiki's (see navigator bar) and not on traditional web pages...so it lead me to ask....

"As a web 2.0 technology educator have we moved past web design software packages and are “dumbing it down” for ease of posting by being so wiki-centric? or does it make total sense to be fast with our delivery, offer a chance for discussion and collaborative creation"
please comment here & give your thoughts!
Now...moving on!
adding Widgets & Video's to your wikispaces:

(click images above and below for full size)


Also see my Something Wiki This Way Comes Wikipage....for more!

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