Web Communications 101: Communication and Collaboration Online
Topic 2.2 Wikis
My Review: topic 2.2
Discovering that wikis, which is a Hawaiian term for fast, have been round longer than the web, first recognised 1995 but have since been renamed with a backronym (A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed after the fact to make an existing word or words match an acronym. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology. ) (Wikipedia 20th Sept.2010) to now spell out "What I Know Is".
Factors that separate wikis from a regular web page are (Curtin 2010)This week we are going to take a look at a relatively simple manifestation of Web 2.0, but one that has had a profound influence on the idea of collaborative content - the wiki. Doubtless you have hear of Wikipedia, and we will be examining this most visible of wikis in depth during the week. But beyond this, there are many ways to leverage the power of simple wiki software in any kind of collaborative web-based project. (Curtin 2010)
My Review: topic 2.2
Discovering that wikis, which is a Hawaiian term for fast, have been round longer than the web, first recognised 1995 but have since been renamed with a backronym (A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed after the fact to make an existing word or words match an acronym. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology. ) (Wikipedia 20th Sept.2010) to now spell out "What I Know Is".
Factors that separate wikis from a regular web page are (Curtin 2010)This week we are going to take a look at a relatively simple manifestation of Web 2.0, but one that has had a profound influence on the idea of collaborative content - the wiki. Doubtless you have hear of Wikipedia, and we will be examining this most visible of wikis in depth during the week. But beyond this, there are many ways to leverage the power of simple wiki software in any kind of collaborative web-based project. (Curtin 2010)
An emphasis on collaboration
Ease of creation and editing from within the web browser
Intuitive linking between pages
Restricted use of HTML and non-HTML elements
Logging of all changes
A wiki (mind map) is a page that many people can work on at once, changing and editing and even reverting back to a previous edition. You can either have private (limited group of people can view and access) or public (mass groups of people can review and) edit. Wikis are used in businesses frequently.
I was requested to pop open a new page that took me to the Wikipedia Tutorial and Editing site.
From Wikipedia
Before you hit save page, it is considered good etiquette (or "Wikiquette") to enter a polite explanation of your changes in the Edit summary box between the edit window and the Save page and Show preview buttons. It can be quite short; for example if you just enter "typo", people will know you made a spelling correction. Also, if the change you have made to the page is minor, such as correcting a spelling or grammar error, be sure to check the box "This is a minor edit" (this is only available if you have logged in). (Wikipedia 2010)
Laura: I managed to edit the page I had access to, "Hello Muffin Man, nice to meet you, come have coffee some time *wink*". I did have a little difficulty in linking the page to another page, but I am sure that if I experiment more (time constraints) that I would be able to do so successfully.
Logging Changes
(Wikipedia, Curtin University course information 2010) With so many people able to edit a single page, it can sometimes be difficult to know what changes are made and by whom. To deal with this, most wikis implement a logging system for editing. When making a change to a wiki, there is usually a small text field underneath the main editing field that asks the user to annotate the changes they have made.
These changes can be viewed by anybody with access to the wiki. For example, click this link (it will take you to a random link on Wikipedia). Now click the history tab at the top of the page to see how many changes have contributed to the article you are viewing.
Laura: I clicked the 'link'. It took me to here:
Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam, or Medal of the Great Leader, is a civil award conferred by the Civil decorations of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan on those who have attained academic distinction in the fields of science, art, literature, or distinction in the fields of sports and nursing; or for rendering dedicated services with selfless devotion in human rights and public service.
This award, like other civilian awards, is announced on August 14 each year and its investiture takes place on following March 23 by the President of Pakistan. It is the fifth highest honour given by the Government of Pakistan to civilians.
[Decorations and Medals of Pakistan
edit]External linksAn award ceremony
Laura: I then clicked the "view history" tab at the top right hand side of the page. This is what I found:
View logs for this page
Browse historyFrom year (and earlier): From month (and earlier):
Tag filter: Deleted only For any version listed below, click on its date to view it. For more help, see Help:Page history and Help:Edit summary.External tools: Revision history statistics · Revision history search · Number of watchers · Page view statistics(cur) = difference from current version, (prev) = difference from preceding version, m = minor edit, → = section edit, ← = automatic edit summary
There is no doubt that the most visible manifestation of wiki technology can be seen in the rise of Wikipedia, the collaborative web-based encyclopaedia. Wikipedia was founded in 2001 as an online encyclopaedia that can be edited by anyone, with the idea being that the sum of human knowledge could be made available to anyone via the web. The encyclopaedia currently hosts 13 Million articles of which 2.9 million are in English. (Curtin 2010)
Laura: I then watched a YouTube video about Jimmy Wales, co founder of Wikipedia, discussing how Wikipedia actually works.
http://youtu.be/WQR0gx0QBZ4
Ease of creation and editing
All the work is done within the browser, which is interesting as it now becomes ease of access. You have no need to understand HTML as coding has been done for you.
The resulting text is now delivered to Wikipedia as: "this is my test page on Wikipedia".
Intuitive linking
The idea of intuitive linking is embedded in the software of most wikis. Derived from Vannevar Bush's idea of 'selection by association', wiki pages usually contain HTML links to other pages which bear the title of the original link. Thus in a typical wiki, when a word is linked it is hyper linked to another page that gives meaning to that particular word or sentence. (Curtin 2010)
Restricted use of HTML and non-HTML elements
According to Curtin's information, in order to make wikis easy to use there are strong policies with regards to page creation. You don't need to know how to code in HTML, style elements can be added to the page but are usually in a much simpler language than HTML. Wikitext is designed to be easy to use in that it is a text editor. It is therefore just as easy to write on a wiki page as it is to (the example used) Blackboard that we use for OUA.
ACTIVITY ONE: TESTING OUT WIKITEXT
I was requested to pop open a new page that took me to the Wikipedia Tutorial and Editing site.
I found out that with the "exception of a few protected pages" (Wiki 2010) I could actually go an edit any page that I wanted. But that it is important to provide reliable references otherwise the unreferenced information can and probably will be removed. Also an important aspect/feature of the editing section is that it allows you to "show preview" BEFORE the page has been saved, which allows for further editing and format changes.
Before you hit save page, it is considered good etiquette (or "Wikiquette") to enter a polite explanation of your changes in the Edit summary box between the edit window and the Save page and Show preview buttons. It can be quite short; for example if you just enter "typo", people will know you made a spelling correction. Also, if the change you have made to the page is minor, such as correcting a spelling or grammar error, be sure to check the box "This is a minor edit" (this is only available if you have logged in). (Wikipedia 2010)
Laura: I managed to edit the page I had access to, "Hello Muffin Man, nice to meet you, come have coffee some time *wink*". I did have a little difficulty in linking the page to another page, but I am sure that if I experiment more (time constraints) that I would be able to do so successfully.
Logging Changes
(Wikipedia, Curtin University course information 2010) With so many people able to edit a single page, it can sometimes be difficult to know what changes are made and by whom. To deal with this, most wikis implement a logging system for editing. When making a change to a wiki, there is usually a small text field underneath the main editing field that asks the user to annotate the changes they have made.
These changes can be viewed by anybody with access to the wiki. For example, click this link (it will take you to a random link on Wikipedia). Now click the history tab at the top of the page to see how many changes have contributed to the article you are viewing.
Laura: I clicked the 'link'. It took me to here:
Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaTamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam, or Medal of the Great Leader, is a civil award conferred by the Civil decorations of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan on those who have attained academic distinction in the fields of science, art, literature, or distinction in the fields of sports and nursing; or for rendering dedicated services with selfless devotion in human rights and public service.
This award, like other civilian awards, is announced on August 14 each year and its investiture takes place on following March 23 by the President of Pakistan. It is the fifth highest honour given by the Government of Pakistan to civilians.
[Decorations and Medals of Pakistan
edit]External linksAn award ceremony
Laura: I then clicked the "view history" tab at the top right hand side of the page. This is what I found:
Revision history of Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaView logs for this page
Browse historyFrom year (and earlier): From month (and earlier):
Tag filter: Deleted only For any version listed below, click on its date to view it. For more help, see Help:Page history and Help:Edit summary.External tools: Revision history statistics · Revision history search · Number of watchers · Page view statistics(cur) = difference from current version, (prev) = difference from preceding version, m = minor edit, → = section edit, ← = automatic edit summary
(cur | prev) 10:39, 10 December 2009 83.3.202.98 (talk) (919 bytes) (→External links) (undo)
(cur | prev) 03:07, 10 October 2009 Soap (talk | contribs) m (924 bytes) (moved Tamgha-e-Quaid-i-Azam to Tamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam: changing vowel transliteration to be more consistent) (undo)- (cur | prev) 03:06, 10 October 2009 Soap (talk | contribs) (924 bytes) (changing vowel transliteration) (undo)
- (cur | prev) 00:46, 8 October 2009 Mikoyan13 (talk | contribs) (924 bytes) (undo)
- (cur | prev) 00:36, 8 October 2009 Mikoyan13 (talk | contribs) (960 bytes) (←Created page with ''''Tamgha-i-Quaid-i-Azam''', or ''Medal of the Great Leader'', is a civil award conferred by the Government of Pakistan on those who have attained academic dist...') (Tag: new article with no mention of title or normal opening sentence)
There is no doubt that the most visible manifestation of wiki technology can be seen in the rise of Wikipedia, the collaborative web-based encyclopaedia. Wikipedia was founded in 2001 as an online encyclopaedia that can be edited by anyone, with the idea being that the sum of human knowledge could be made available to anyone via the web. The encyclopaedia currently hosts 13 Million articles of which 2.9 million are in English. (Curtin 2010)
Laura: I then watched a YouTube video about Jimmy Wales, co founder of Wikipedia, discussing how Wikipedia actually works.
http://youtu.be/WQR0gx0QBZ4
Wikipedia in Academia (Read This!)
This is perhaps a good point in this course to discuss the use of wikipedia as a reference in academic writing.
Fortunately, this topic is tackled by Wikipedia itself on a page dedicated to the issue of conducting
Fortunately, this topic is tackled by Wikipedia itself on a page dedicated to the issue of conducting
research on the site:
"In most academic institutions, Wikipedia, along with most encyclopaedias, is unacceptable as a major source for a research paper." (Curtin 2010)
Laura: Well that's ok with me, I'm not sure the information is reliable although more academic and mainstream newspapers are now quoting Wikipedia as their "source of information". (Anthony, Smith, Williamson 2007)
Wikis Reading:
UPDATE: 15/10/2010 NO CHANGE HAS BEEN MADE TO THE SITE SINCE I POSTED MY SECTION OF THE EDITORIAL. IT IS STILL THERE.
Reference
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym
Vannevar Bush http://u-tx.net/ccritics/as-we-may-think.html
Wikipedia Tutorial (editing) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Tutorial_(Editing)
Childhood obesity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childhood_obesity
Denise Anthony, Sean W. Smith, and Tim Williamson, "The Quality of Open Source Production: Zealots and Good Samaritans in the Case of Wikipedia." Dartmouth Computer Science Technical Report TR2007-606, September 2007
Denise Anthony, Sean W. Smith, and Tim Williamson, "The Quality of Open Source Production: Zealots and Good Samaritans in the Case of Wikipedia." Dartmouth Computer Science Technical Report TR2007-606, September 2007. (32 pages)
I found this article very hard to read. It was just as well that we didn't have to be concerned with sections III and IV as parameters went way over my head.
My thoughts:
The discussion and conclusion section of the article is mainly concerned with how Wikipedia is now being used increasingly as a source for reliable information by mainstream media. Wikipedia, according to the technical report, has increased its traffic and become one of the top 10 ranked websites (http://www.alexa.com/ 2007).
It was interesting to note that even though contributors vary in their interest, reputation and commitment to the Wikis group is highly valued and as such being a registered contributor is even more so. What apparently seems to let the site down is the "Good Samaritan" contributor who only posts one article on a particular subject that they are passionate about. The viewing public are still unsure of the content quality, because simply put the editors are unknown to them even if they are registered.
Open source production is a part of this mechanism, as one of a group of new form of public production it also encounters the same social dilemma that "confronts the production and maintenance of other public goods" but still encounters the negative impact garnered from the "Good Samaritan" group of contributors. The findings of that role were a surprise to the researchers as they discovered that instead of poor quality production it was found that instead the group produced high quality content, and the reason for the surprise was directed to the lack of previous study on that area of input. "Open source production it seems reduces the cost of contributing and expands the population of potential contributors so much that a critical mass is more likely to be reached early in the production process." (Anthony, Smith, Williamson 2007)
With this aspect in mind it seems that even though open source production alters the mass of information that is placed on Wikipedia, it also effectively controls the quality as well.
ACTIVITY TWO – KNOWLEDGE SHARING
My contribution to a wikis page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childhood_obesity
=== Australia ===
Since the onset of the 21st Century, Australia has found that childhood obesity has followed trend with the United States. Information garnered has concluded that the increase has occurred in the lower socioeconomic areas where poor nutritional education has been blamed.
UPDATE: 15/10/2010 NO CHANGE HAS BEEN MADE TO THE SITE SINCE I POSTED MY SECTION OF THE EDITORIAL. IT IS STILL THERE.
Reference
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backronym
Vannevar Bush http://u-tx.net/ccritics/as-we-may-think.html
Wikipedia Tutorial (editing) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Tutorial_(Editing)
Childhood obesity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childhood_obesity
Denise Anthony, Sean W. Smith, and Tim Williamson, "The Quality of Open Source Production: Zealots and Good Samaritans in the Case of Wikipedia." Dartmouth Computer Science Technical Report TR2007-606, September 2007
