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WIKI in OUR WORLD By: Xuan Dinh

Internet technology is quickly evolving resulting in floods of new information and idea exchange across the web. The relatively new , , has helped ease this exchange by granting access and allowing group activity to almost anyone with access.

This research explains how the wiki has broken out of its original purpose and is making its way into mainstream culture. The background and purpose of , specifically for the benefit of students and writers, are also addressed.

INTRODUCTION

In 1994, American programmer , programmed and installed the first on his , c2.com1. Cunningham’s purpose of developing wikis was for communal publishing2. The wiki, whose name derives from the Hawaiian word “wikiwiki,” meaning quickly, is a collaborative website that allows anyone with internet access to modify the contents of the page.3 The most popular wiki is , an online available in over 200 languages.

Today, the wiki is gaining popularity beyond Wikipedia. IBM started using wikis in 2005. Even the United Nations has embraced the technology in the hopes that it will “help staff in 80 countries share information and reach consensus with less deliberation and more speed.”4

1 Chao, Joseph, Student Project Using Wikis 2 Terdiman, Daniel 3 Ward Cunningham 4 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20011277/site/newsweek/page/0/ http://www.musingsfrommars.org/images/wikis.png

STUDENT USES

Wikis offer several educational uses:5

1. Students can use a wiki for research projects and document their work in them. This is especially helpful for students who are uncomfortable with their assigned group mates. They may be able to work more effectively and produce better results when not in close physical proximity of each other. Also, if a group assignment calls for collaboration outside of the classroom, wikis save the gas money and travel time for group meetings.

2. Students can edit and comment on teacher-added course documents and syllabi. This is especially helpful for classes that meet only once a week. Students who find textbook solution errors or handout typos may point these out to other students so that time spent deciphering errors may be reduced.

3. Wikis are useful for brainstorming. Students who have a difficult time participating in class may find that wikis offer a safe “environment” to state ideas/opinions.

All of the educational uses above also apply to those using wikis in the workplace for team projects and the like.

Although they may never replace telephones as the main way to communicate, wikis are making its way into mainstream culture: education and the workplace. No longer are wikis used just for its original concept of communal publishing. Overall, usage of wikis in and outside of the classroom/workplace provides an alternative way for communication for group work.

WRITER USES

Ordinary people can take on reporter and journalist roles when they post news items on wikis. When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, photographs and reports of the flooding were posted on by citizen journalists6. This method allowed those who used WikiNews to see a different view of the disaster besides what the national news broadcasted. It also provided a fast way for out-of-state-ers to

5 Duffy & Bruns 6 Terdiman, Daniel check on the status of their family members with user reports of flooded streets. http://www.frankieroberto.com/weblog/images/screenshots/wikinews-frontpage-thumbnail.png Wikis deliver at-the-moment, unedited news that publishers and broadcasters cannot keep up with. With wikis, there is no middle man which new stories must first filter through before becoming public. Although some prefer this type of fresh, raw news, critics of wikis doubt the credibility of this method.

Wikis also offer a () venue for aspiring writers or even those with opinions to make their writing public to the world. In doing so, authors also leave their writing vulnerable to not only the scorn but also the editing of critics. Some may find that wikis open a new venue for which one can exercise the freedom of speech/press. But again, others find that opening up sites to the ordinary public make sites like Wikipedia unreliable.

For example, WikiAnswers is an online “Q&A Community” whose users strive to find – and help others find – answers to any question. The most popularly read answers are posted above the rest. Sometimes, more than one answer is posted. In these cases, how would you decide which one to believe?

Whatever the case, one cannot argue that wikis offer fresh views of news and first- hand opinions without the editing that newspaper opinion columns publish and biased world news reports televise. The adding/editing of wikis comes from anyone.

START A WIKI

Wikis are usually created by – and sometimes – for those with a need to communicate and/collaborate. WikiNews was created for exchange of news. Wikipedia was created to build an online encyclopedia and collect as much knowledge as possible – about anything and everything. Educational wikis are created by students so they can finish projects.

Before starting a wiki, you also must decide who you will allow access to. Wikis like the ones mentioned above are open for public viewing and editing. Others, like workplace and educational wikis are made just for those involved with the project.

So, to start a wiki, you must first find a suitable wiki engine.

WIKI ENGINES

The wiki engine, itself, “implements the wiki technology.7” There are many different types of wiki engines to choose from. Media Wiki was found to be the

7 http://www.ohloh.net/projects/22?p=MediaWiki best engine since it can handle a large number of users.8 It is used for sites like Wikipedia, , and .

Other engines include Tiki Wiki, Wakka Wiki, and Pm Wiki.

Setting up a wiki domain requires money and much work to keep up and keep out hackers. For users new to wiki, adding and editing articles on existing wikis is recommended.

HOW TO USE A WIKI

Wikis are usually public sites where anyone is welcome to read and/or edit articles. However, in order to add or edit articles in a wiki, you may need to set up an account. If you decided to set up an account with, let’s say, WikiNews, this is what you would need:

1. A computer with internet access. 2. An address. 3. Typing ability.

As you can see, creating a wiki requires no extensive technological ability. Once you have created an account, a confirmation email will be sent. After following this link, you should be able to access all the features that the wiki site offers – including the option to add and edit articles! After clicking the tab “edit this page”, you may think you need HTML and CSS skills, but the toolbar above the textbox allows you to easily bold, underline, and add to what you decide to write.

http://blog.netdimensions.com/netd-blog/resources/default/ipod_notes_wikipedia01.jpg

8 http://www.ohloh.net/projects/22?p=MediaWiki And what you decide to write about is all up to you! Whatever subject you choose and whatever opinion you wish to convey is entirely in your hands. Just remember that if you do not have an account with the wiki that you write on, your IP address – this identifies your computer – may be recorded.

Also, do not expect that what you wrote remains the same when you check back two or three hours later. By posting a public wiki, you have given everyone permission to edit your article.

FUTURE OF WIKIS

The future of wikis is quite simply in the hands of students and young web users today. Armed with the ability to communicate and collaborate with others across the world, international relations may become stronger. Wikis could be read at 6 pm instead of reading the paper and watching televised national news. As long as people respect the freedom that it allows, wikis could continue to help us communicate and collaborate.

SOURCES

Bennett, Jessica. “Power in Numbers”. Newsweek International. . 2007.

Chao, Joseph. “Student Project Collaboration Using Wikis”. GVSU journal lookup. . 27 September 2007.

Duffy, P. & Bruns, A., “The use of , wikis and RSS in education: A conversation of possibilities”, 2006, Brisbane, 26 September 2006.

MediaWiki. . 2007.

Terdiman, Daniel. “How Wikis are Changing our View of the World.

“Ward Cunningham”. . 15 August 2007.