Wikis in Plain English

what is wikis?

'Wiki'
is one of the most prevalent buzzwords on the Internet, right up there with
'cloud computing' and 'responsive design. This term
"wiki" actually means quick in Hawaiian. The journey from that definition to today's
definition of "a website that allows collaborative editing of its
content and structure by its users" is quite the interesting story,best told by Ward
Cunningham, the father of the modern wiki. The important part of
wikis—what makes them different from any other type of website—is collaborative editing
by the users. Think about that for a moment: the ability for the users of a
wiki to collaboratively edit it. If you can read it, you can edit it. It seems
simple at first, yet profoundly powerful in practice—and it is what both
Wikipedia and WikiLeaks have in common.

Purpose of wikis:

Wikis can serve multiple purposes. Below are some purposes
relevant to education as examples for what wikis have been used in the past:

·                    
Glossary / Encyclopedia

The best example is Wikipedia: each
term has a wiki page with explanations (or translations, definitions, etc.).

·                    
Collaborative Document Editing

Multiple authors contribute to a single document

·                    
Peer Review

Students comment on each others' work (or the tutor comments on student-created
work)

·                    
Brainstorming

A quick way of recording thoughts and links between ideas.

·                    
Shared Resource Site

Files or web links are attached to wiki pages, and someone takes responsibility
to create a categorisation system.

·                    
Data Collection

As wikis are easy to edit and never lose content, they can be used as a tool to
collect data.

·                    
Group Projects

Each group can create their own project site and use the wiki to keep a
complete history of the project, including internal project management and
communication.

·                    
Progress Tracking

Because of the simple editing system, a wiki can be used as a simple tool to
record all aspects of a project for viewers to track the progress.

·                    
Presentation

As with any website, a wiki can be used as a presentation tool.

·                    
Simplistic Portfolio

Individuals or groups can create a portfolio of their work by using a wiki.

·                    
Storyboard Development

As all wiki pages can be linked, it is possible to create both linear and
non-linear 'stories' in a wiki.

As you can see, a wiki can serve a multitude of
purposes. Wikis are essentially mere vehicles that allow anybody to create
content online. It is up to the creativity of the tutor to design sensible
tasks that make wikis meaningful