Thing #16

Well, Christmas and New Year came and went. I finally settled down to the next 8 things to do. The next thing being Wikis.

From what I gathered, Wikis allow people from all over the world to contribute their ideas and knowledge to a common interest. They can work on it at different time zones, as and when they have the time to do so. An example is the socialtext wiki that allows contributors to create a book by writing articles on topics that they are interested in or are knowledgeable in, as listed on the content page. It also allows people to exchange ideas and comments. Another example is the famous Wikipedia, which is an online encyclopedia that we go to for information.

Wetpaint wikis are useful for beginners to wikis. They are free and easy to use. There are templates to start off with and allow people to build upon. They offer similar functions to our MeL, such as Announcements, putting up notes and teaching plans. As it allows us to control who can contribute, and what they have contributed, it may be safe to use in an educational institute.

In conclusion, Wikis allow people from all walks of life to contribute to a common interest, at any time of the day. It encourages collaboration, exchange of information, and mobility, and it's here to stay.