1. Wikis Skills (application development): wiki editing and management
IT concepts: Collaborative writing tools, many-to-many application, subscription
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2. A wiki is a collection of linked pages that any authorized user can edit.
The command sequence Click Edit > Make Changes > Click Save is used to edit a page.
Authorized users can add new pages to a wiki
Click here to watch Wikis in Plain English (3:40).

3. Wiki feature illustration
Use Wikispaces.com for an illustration
All wikis have the features shown here

4. Editing illustration – starting page
Click Edit to make changes to a page.

5. Add text using the limited word processor
Click Save when finished editing the page.

6. The revised page

7. Other wiki characteristics and features
Add a new page
Display the edit history of a wiki
Compare two versions to see how they differ
Revert a page to a previous version
Comment on and discuss page revisions (in a separate area, not on the page)
One can subscribe (by RSS or ) to be informed when someone changes a page
A wiki may be editable by the public or by an authorized group of users
Wikis are a many-to-many medium
All wikis have these characteristics and features. Again, we will illustrate using Wikispaces.com.

8. Add a new page
Click New Page, and you will be asked for a page name. After creating the page, you can link to it from other pages.

9. View the edit history of a page
You can view a version, compare two versions, highlighting additions and deletions, or see the author’s profile.

10. Compare two pages
Added material is highlighted in green, deleted material in red. (Nothing was deleted in this example).

11. Revert to a previous edit

12. Subscribe for notification of changes
Subscribe to change notifications to follow your interest or to correct errors.
Notification by or RSS feed of changes to a specific page (contents or comments) or the entire wiki

13. Decide permission levels
Example policies – everyone can read and only selected people can edit the wiki, everyone can read and edit, only selected people can
Note that some permission options are only available if one has upgraded to a paid version.

14. Comment on and discuss page revisions
Use this page to explain reasons for making changes if there is disagreement. The goal is to arrive at a consensus if possible.

15. The wiki is a many-to-many tool
All authorized users can contribute content and all authorized users can view the content.

16. Food for thought
What are some ways the students taking a class could use a wiki?
What are some ways your family or friends could use a wiki?
What are some ways an organization could use a wiki?
A wiki is a many-to-many communication tool. What is another many-to-many tool?
Are wikis used for synchronous or asynchronous communication?
Wikis are used for collaborative writing of documents – what other tool could be used for collaborative writing?
All wikis have common features – find the Edit, Save, Display History, Compare Pages and Revert commands on WikiPedia.

18. A wiki is a collection of linked pages that any authorized user can edit.
The command sequence Click Edit > Make Changes > Click Save is used to edit a page.
Authorized users can add new pages to a wiki.
Click here to watch Wikis in Plain English (3:40).
Click here to continue after watching.