Week 4- Wiki

The article that I read describes a wiki as being a “small piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web content using any Web browser and no other special tools.” After reading this definition I thought that it sounded a lot like a blog. However, the author of this author made it very clear that a blog is much different. One way that it is different is that a wiki can be edited by anyone and is basically run by its members. This is a benefit because any spam can be removed immediately which can, in turn, help to create a reliable site. Also, “in a wiki you try to speak without a strong voice, seeking consensus to create something permanent.” In contrast, blogs focus on the author and he or she tries to establish their own point of view. One example, that the website gives, of a wiki is Wikipedia. This is an online encyclopedia of information that everyone has access to. Teachers are also able to set up wikis along with people who are interested in specific fields of science and any other topic.
This article relates to teaching because teachers are able to set up wikis and have their students access them. It seems to me that there may be a bit more structure to a wiki than to a blog. This seems like a plus to me. I have never accessed a wiki that I know of, other than Wikipedia. I didn’t even know until researching wikis that anyone can add information to the site. This definitely makes me a little more cautious about trusting Wikipedia. Overall, it sounds like a good idea to me and I like the fact that people can challenge what is being written. I think that further research would be beneficial in the area of consumer reports. I think that it would be great to have access to what everyone thinks about certain products and their reliability. However, then you take the chance of someone deleting all of the bad reviews and keeping all of the good ones.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,1072779,00.asp

Citation:

Rupley, S. (2003). What’s a Wiki? September 19, 2008, from http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,1072779,00.asp