The term wiki is a shorter form of wiki wiki (weekie, weekie) which is from the native language of Hawaii (Hawaiian), where it is commonly used as an adjective to denote something "quick" or "fast". In English, it is an adverb meaning "quickly" or "fast". Here, a wiki is a type of website that allows users to easily add, remove, or otherwise edit all content, very quickly and easily, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative writing. The term wiki can also refer to the collaborative software itself that facilitates the operation of such a website.
In essence, a wiki is a simplification of the process of creating HTML pages combined with a system that records each individual change that occurs over time, so that at any time, a page can be reverted to any of its previous states. A wiki system may also include various tools, designed to provide users with an easy way to monitor the constantly changing state of the wiki as well as a place to discuss and resolve the many inevitable issues, namely, the inherent disagreement over wiki content. Wiki content can also be misleading, as users are bound to add incorrect information to the wiki page.
Most wikis will allow completely unrestricted access so that people are able to contribute to the site without necessarily having to undergo a process of 'registration', as had usually been required by various other types of interactive websites such as Internet forums or chat sites. However, specialized wikis may restrict access to certain individuals.
Wikis are generally designed with the philosophy of making it easy to correct mistakes, rather than making it difficult to make them. Thus while wikis are very open, they provide a means to verify the validity of recent additions to the body of pages. The most prominent, on almost every wiki, is the "Recent Changes" page—a specific list numbering recent edits, or a list of all the edits made within a given timeframe. Some wikis can filter the list to remove minor edits and edits made by automatic importing scripts ("bots").
The open philosophy of most wikis—of allowing anyone to edit content—does not ensure that editors are well intentioned. Wiki vandalism is a constant problem for wikis, although some sources with little relevant experience with wikis tend to exaggerate the danger of vandalism. Studies from IBM claim that most vandalism to Wikipedia is removed in 5 minutes or less. In some cases, user accounts or IP addresses are banned from editing certain wikis, and certain pages may be 'locked', to prevent further vandalism.
Definition from Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.
The mother af all Wikis: Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. Over a million articles in English; many other languages represented as well. All terms used in articles which have their own entries are interlinked. An essential resource for just about anyone, but especially educators and students. Warning: this site is highly addictive!
Links to all the largest wikis can
be found here.
Creating your own wikis: You can use a wikifarm to create and host
your own wiki. You control the result -- set the wiki to public, private,
password-protected access, and more. A comparison of the most common wikifarms
can
be found here.
A concise description of design principles for wikis.
In addition to creating a wiki, JotSpot allows users to share documents, calendars, spreadsheets, photos, and more. A permissions system enables the administrator to invite users and determine which documents they can access. JotSpot has additional add on tools to create blogs, discussions, forums, even project management capabilities. Upgrades and customization features are available for a fee.
The free version of Wikispaces allows the wiki to be public or viewed my members only. Upgrades and customization features are available for a fee.
The "P B" in PBWiki stands for peanut butter, giving the impression that setting up a wiki here is as easy as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Upgrades and customization features are available for a fee.
A free web site creator, WetPaint combines wikis, blogs, and forums.
Wikipedia - the well-known and sometimes controversial multilingual general encyclopedia.
Wiktionary - a multi-language dictionary and thesaurus
Wikiquote - an encyclopedia of quotations
Wikibooks - an library of etextbooks useful to students
Wikibooks - an library of etextbooks useful to students
Stockepedia - a free online encyclopedia of the Stock Market, created by and for the investing community
Wikipedia Lesson Plan - Use this lesson plan to help your students verify the reliability of a Wikipedia entry
Wiki Quote - Quotes about education
Adult Literacy Education - This wiki was built to support Adult Literacy Education
Wiki Books - A collection of free, open-content textbooks that you can edit
Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not
A diagram of how the University of Southern California uses wikis
Seven Things You Should Know about Wikis
Wikis in Teaching and Assessment
Uses and Potentials of Wikis in the Classroom
Using Wikis in Schools: A Case Study
WetPaint is looking for innovative uses of wikis to build a showcase of examples.
