Enhancements: Social Technology: Wiki and Collaborative Spaces

A wiki (pronounced "weekee") is a set of dynamic, linked web documents. In most cases these documents are created collaboratively. Once established, many wiki have no designated editor. Instead anyone can contribute. Wiki Wiki means "fast" in Hawaiian and refers to the quick way pages can be developed. Wikipedia is the best known wiki. Learn more at Wiki from Wikipedia.

Go to an example of a wiki created by sixth graders based on the book The Wright 3.

Check out a few other library oriented wikis: Library and Information Science Wiki, Every Child Ready to Read wiki, Instruction wiki, and Subject Guides.

Server Software for Wikis

If you have control over your web server, you can install your own wiki-based system for constructing collaborative websites. Go to Wiki Engines or Top Ten Wiki Engines for a master list of software organized by programming language. Some options are listed below (GPL standards for software offered under the General Public License):

• MediaWiki (GPL) - used by wikipedia; intended for large scale projects
  
• MoinMoin (GPL) - uses Python
  
• Php Wiki (GPL) - uses PHP
  
• PmWiki (GPL)
  
• TikiWiki (LGPL)

Websites for Wikis

There are many websites that provide space for wikis. However many contain ads. Go to the Wikispaces Teacher Page to set up a wiki without ads. This will ensure you get a wiki without ads. Or, use one of the following spaces:

• PBWorks (free for Google ad-based, 10MB)
  
• SeedWiki (no ads; free users, pages, limited access to page stats)
  
• Wikispaces (free for educators with edublog; 2GB+)

Learn More

Learning Spaces: Collaborative Web and Wikis from High Tech Learning