Wiki

=Wikis=
 * What is a wiki?**

Wiki, from the Hawaiian word "wiki-wiki" meaning “quick”, is an easy-to-use, collaborative web site made up of the on-going collective work of many authors. It is similar to a blog in structure and logic, but, unlike a blog, most wikis allow anyone to edit, delete, or modify content that has been put on the site, even the work of previous authors. This allows people to easily share ideas. Wikis are intended to maintain a series of unique documents as their content evolves and to provide a means of organizing that information. You can use wikis to run a project at work, plan a trip, teach a class, etc.

The first wiki, [|WikiWikiWeb] was created by Ward Cunningham in 1995. (from [|webopedia] )

One of the best known wikis is [|wikipedia], a free, collaboratively built encyclopedia. Wikipedia demonstrates some of the strengths of wikis. It is easily modified and added to so the information can be extremely current. The downside is that it relies on contributor monitoring for accuracy and objectivity (as illustrated in the image).

Wikis are basically a collection of user-editable Web pages connected with each other through internal links. You can go to any topic in Wikipedia, for example, click on the "Edit this page button", and add, delete, or change information in that entry. The idea that anyone can come to a wiki like Wikipedia and edit any page at any time and do so with complete anonymity is disconcerting to many people. Some concerns people have:
 * How wikis work?**


 * What if the person doing the typing has no idea what he/she is talking about?
 * What if the person is a vandal and inserts profanity?
 * What if the person is a vandal and either completely erases the page or corrupts it?
 * What if the person is a spammer from a porn site who adds porn links and pictures to the page?

While it does happen, that kind of thing is relatively rare. The key thing that makes a wiki work is its community. Members of the wiki's community monitor it to help ensure that vandals, dummies and spammers do not corrupt the wiki. The heart of any wiki is its community. Community members include
 * Readers. They arrive at a wiki and read one or more articles.
 * Writers. They add a new section to an existing article or create a brand new article.
 * Editors. If they see an error on a page they are reading, they correct it. If they can make a small addition that is helpful, they will do it on the spot.
 * Administrators. They are responsible for deleting and un-deleting pages, blocking and unblocking IP addresses, etc.

The best way to understand how the community works is to add something to a wiki and see what happens.

The only reason that a wiki works is because the community of people who work on it make it work. The community adds all of the content, edits everything and polices the content to root out problems. When the community is functioning well, it can produce a tremendous amount of content that gets better and better over time.
 * Contributing to a Wiki**

If you want, you can become a member of almost any wiki community. Join the[| NISC] wiki at http://www.niscatlanta.com/ > > >
 * 1) Click on Join in the upper right corner of the window.
 * 2) Create a username (anonymous like first name and last initial), password, and enter your email address.
 * 3) Click the Join button.
 * 4) Return to the NISC wiki and click on Join this Space on the left side of the screen beneath Wiki Tools.
 * 5) Type a brief message in the comment section identifying yourself and your school affiliation (your message will only be viewed by the NISC organizers so it is okay to give your full name).
 * 1) Click the Request Membership button.
 * 2) Your membership request will be reviewed by the NISC organizers.
 * 1) You will be able to edit the NISC wiki pages once it has been approved.

You can change this [|NISC-Web2Session] wiki page (or any of the other pages on this wiki) now. If you don't have a change you want to make, you can scroll down this page and just add a comment or add a link in the Parent-Suggested Links section.

Wikis are used by: > > >
 * Uses**
 * Schools and colleges for sharing student work, class information, and group project. They can be used to provide syllabus, links, and a venue for students to share and work together.
 * Sample: [|Woodward's Hanna Lee Book Project] wiki
 * Businesses for collaborative projects. Wikis for businesses may be Intranet rather than Internet based.
 * [|Information Week: Wikis for Business: The Killer App]
 * Teams, clubs, other groups
 * Sample: [|RoboKnights FLL Robotics team] (Pace's robotics team decided to create a wiki this year. If you want to have access to edit it, just ask the session instructor for the password.)
 * Individuals

Several sites allow you to quickly and easily create your own wiki if you want one. • [|WetPaint] - Great site that let's you start and manage a wiki very easily. • [|PBWiki] - Another free site that has added a WYSIWYG option to make it easy to use. You can pay for extra features but don't need them for a simple wiki. • [|WikiDot] - Another option for a free wiki site
 * Create your own wiki**


 * Links**

[|Elementary School] students’ wiki - Students’ interviews, articles, poems, and shared links.