E-learning and the power of Wikis Pt. 4

Wikis on the Web

When asked about wikis many people say they do not use them much because they do not know if they can trust their content. But I really doubt that wikis that purposefully mislead people will be around for very long.

I also believe that some times unintentional mistakes happen but because of the editing feature of wikis, these mistakes are quickly fixed when they are discovered. The power of wiki does not lie in the changing of content as much as adding to content. Most of the "change" that takes place in wikis is due to people adding content to the wiki.

But enough talking about wikis. This last part will help you explore wikis on the web. The best way to learn about wikis is to use them; the second best way to learn about wikis is seeing how others use them. Even though this is the last part to this blog, it will not be the final because the web is constantly changing and therefore these tools are changing along with the web.

The best way to experience wiki-ing is by wiki-ing; that is starting your own wiki. The following is one of the better site for doing this but there are others; I this does not suit your needs find one that does. http://pbworks.com/. The basic version is free but can be upgraded but this is mainly geared toward organizations.

With out going any futher one of the best places to learn about wikis is from the "big wiki" its self http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki. This is by no means all there is on the subject but it is a great starting point. I use Wikipidia a lot as a jumping off point.

I used this website http://wiki.wsu.edu/wsuwiki/Using_Wikis_For_Learning to prove a point. Many institutions of higher learning are seriously looking at wikis for creating learning events and environments.

Here is another wiki service. http://wiki.wsu.edu/wsuwiki/Using_Wikis_For_Learning. I use this to point out an important feature you need to look for. You can make the wiki private but only if you upgrade. Be sure you understand the security features; compare with PBW.

If a picture is worth a 1000 words what is a video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7BAU2XX5Ws
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.bnet.com/2422-13731_23-187449.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fWDyUGlm_s&feature=channel

Here is a fun one http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page. Jump on the wikihow wagon with your own how-to.

In closing wikis are not so much about "changing" content as much as it is about adding and sharing contents. The wiki will change as it grows but this change will be a natural shared process with the collaborators of the wiki.
Have fun and hope to see you wiki wiki.