Aloha!
Welcome to the online world of Wikis. The name wiki comes from the Hawaiian word for “quick”. A wiki’s purpose is to bring quick answers, solutions or information on anything and everything. The wiki is attributed to Ward Cunningham who in 1995 wanted to create the “simplest database that would work”. What makes wikis so different from other websites, search engines and online dictionaries is that a wiki has numerous contributors. Since wikis have numerous editors, wikis may seem non-reliable. Anybody can edit the information so there may be people who will report false information or even change correct information. But there are page editors constantly checking the pages for accuracy. A contributor may be blocked from adding or editing information if needed. That being said, it is important to not only use wikis as a sole source. Especially for students, using another more “reliable” source is important.
Let’s talk about wikis in Education. Some teachers have reported that they have better success when wikis are narrowly focused for a definite period of time. Let’s take, for example, a group writing project with a deadline. It is also helpful to construct wiki problems that offer multiple solutions, which ensures continued dialog and collaborating to solve the problem among students. Other teachers state that they contribute to the wiki that the students are using, only to help guide when absolute necessary. An interesting example of students using a wiki is the “Sunflower” example, which can be found on this website.
On the same website there are also more examples of wikis for you to check out.
Here are some differences we have found between wikis and regular websites:
WIKIS
*open editing
*simple text formatting language
*earlier versions stored in database
*easy to create new pages
*low security
*equal user rules
*multiple anonymous authorship
*communal, collaborative
*pages considered always in progress
CONVENTIONAL WEBPAGES:
*limited editing
*conventiona HTML
*earlier versions are not automatically saved
*harder to create new pages
*high security
*hierarchial user roles
*limited known authorship
*individual
*pages considered finished
All in all, wikis are great for quick information on any topic. You will likely get similar facts and different opinions, but you will always find some form of answer. The most widely-known wiki is wikipedia.com, which many people use on a daily basis for information on various countries, wars, people, and terms. It is a good source to go to for getting ideas about a topic before researching it further.
20 comments:
This one kept my attention! You guys were creative and I like the way you stated out the differences of wikis and of other websites. This was a really cool one to read!
Your blog was informative. The visuals were eye-catching and made the blog more interesting than text-only. The comparison of wikis and traditional web pages made it clear about the differences between the two.
Wow I really enjoyed reading your blog. 1. All the pictures really helped keep my attention and 2. All the pretty colors you used for the information. I didn't know that Wiki came from th Hawaiian word of quick. I thought that was pretty interesting.
Very imformative. I did not know all that about the wiki background. I also like how you compared the wiki to a website.
I thought this article was not only really interesting to read but I felt like I also learneda few things. I never really knew much about the background of Wikis and where they originated from. Also, I liked the comic in the beginning of ur article, it made me want to keep reading.
What an awesome blog! It was very easy to read and the pictures really helped to break up the information. I really liked how you guys listed, simply, the differences in a wiki website and that of a traditional website.
The visuals are great. The layout was really helpful. I like how you compared the differences of a wiki and a regular webpage. The breakdown of information was very easy to process.
First of all WOW!!!!!!!! I really liked the visual effect of the bright colors it really caught my eye and made me want to keep reading. I was really intrigued by the fact given that "Some teachers have reported that they have better success when wikis are narrowly focused for a definite period of time." This statement really made sense to me, I think this is the case with a lot of things with kids that they work better during shorter periods of time. Great job this week on your blog.
Blog One:) Your blog caught my attention out of all the other blogs. You guys did an awesome job! I loved all the pictures, they were fun and very enjoyable. It made your blog spark, which made it stand out! I like how you gave differences of wikis and websites. That was very informative. "A wiki’s purpose is to bring quick answers, solutions or information on anything and everything."---I never knew that:) Great info. I loved the comic! And how you said Aloha in the beginning.---Lindsay Boyer
Wow I really liked your blog on wikis! It was very creative to use the comic and pictures that your group provided, good job!
Hey great job team one. Your article and summary were very well put together. You used the article, but at the same time did a great job parphrasing at times too. I love the pictures and the colors as well. This was a very well informed blog. good job.
I love your post!!! The pictures are a great add on! The colorful text and they way you wrote your posting definently held my attention. Your post kept me interested and grabbed my attention. this was very informative and gave great examples as to how wikis and traditional web pages differ.
I liked your comparison of a wiki to a website. I also liked how you gave the history of where the word wiki came from. I also liked how you wrote about how teachers like to use wikis in the classroom.
Hahaha. Love the eye catching cartoon and the information was delivered in a great fun way! The way it is used in education gives great insight to wikis along with the comparison of it against other web sources! Awesome team!!!!!
Your blog was amazing! I loved the pictures and the colors used! This blog was very interesting and did not drag on! Way to go!!
What a creative blog. I really grab my attention, and informed at the same time. You explain what a wiki is very clearly, which would be difficuilt for new comers to understand usually.
i really liked this article it explains what wikis are and gives fun facts about wikis. the pictures and colors really keep my attention.
Group ONe, Your article was definately one of the beeter ones i have seen! Not only was the blog interesting, but the colors and pictures really drew my attention in! This helped me chose this blog as one that i wanted to respond to, which was a smart move on your part!
I enjoyed how detailed this blog was. I liked the fact that you listed the differences between wikis and conventional webpages. For example, wikis offer open editing and low security. As opposed to conventional webpages that offer limited editing and high security. In my opinion, Wikis offers a better educational learning experience for students. It allows them to get involved with one another. Good work team one.
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