I recently caught a great little YouTube clip called “Wikis in Plain English.” I noticed that one of my work friends (thanks Chrys!) had made it a favorite on Facebook, so I checked it out. This clip was done by the same people who made “RSS in Plain English” that I mentioned here a few weeks ago, so I figured it would be informative (and funny). So if you don’t know much about Wikis, check this out. [Actually even if you do know about them, this is a nice way to explain it to others, so it is still worth a look.]
If you are wondering (as I was) about how wikis can be used in Higher Ed here are some suggestions from the University of Washington-Tacoma. Their IT group compiled various examples of Wiki use in higher ed here: Examples of Wikis in Higher Education
Also, the University of Delaware has some helpful information here: Wikis in Higher Education (UD). They have an informative PDF on the topic. In that report, they discuss typical uses for Wikis.
1.3 Typical Usage of Wikis (What Wikis Are Good For)
Wikis are used to support a large number of different activities. Here are some of the most common ways wikis are used.
- Brainstorming: When starting a specific project or a creative process, participants are invited to add items and thoughts on a wiki. They are also asked to link all these random thoughts and concept together in order to stimulate creativity.
- Group project: A wiki can act as a private intranet for a specific group project so all participants can communicate, share resources (including texts, videos, spreadsheets, links, etc.), and write a report or a book together.
- Meeting support: An agenda for a specific meeting is posted on a wiki and participants are invited to consult and edit it prior to a meeting. The wiki is edited during the meeting to include was discussed. Participants can later use the wiki to post missing information or follow‐up items. This technique is also every useful for training, presentations, and birds of a feather sessions during conferences.
- Make lists: From a list of best restaurants in town to a glossary of terms used in a specific field of expertise, a wiki is a great way to organize this kind of content. In the same spirit, wikis can also be used to build an online repository of relevant documents or FAQs.
- Collections of links: Wikis can be used for social bookmarking. They give to all participants the possibility to post, comment, group, and classify links of all nature or in a specific field of expertise.
- Writing a collective letter, position, statement, web content:
When writing something that is intended for an official legal instance, to clients, to upper management or to the general public, a wiki is an excellent tool to reach a consensus, define key ideas, and write down the content to be clear and non‐offensive.- Building a group portfolio: Any organization can use a wiki to post past projects, testimonials from clients, history of the organization, etc. This kind of portfolio is a powerful marketing tool.
Want to start your own wiki? Here are some free wiki resources to explore:
You can also look into self-hosting a wiki on your own server. There are a plethora of free, open source wikis like MediaWiki, TWiki, DokuWiki and more. WikiMatrix is a great place to refer to for information on all of them.
Are you using a wiki? How are you using it? Do you have any suggestions for other tools out there?
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This is really cool. What method did you use to create the change up after snapping your fingers? Thanks for an entertaining Wiki education.
Well, I didn’t create the video. It was produced by a company called “Common Craft.” They have several clips like this on YouTube. They are always entertaining and educational! 
Apart from wikis I use a lot my online portfolio to communicate with my graphic design metors and clients. It costs me about $50 per month but is well worth the money.
It is easy to update and to show (anyone with internet connection)
Another favourite tool is Twitter:)
I think wikis have become valuable, but there are certainly other methods that allow for you you to effectively communicate. Can you really trust some wiki’s. With fully access by all, how reliable is the information? Just food for thought.
Ahh nice…I was searching for them…Its good you provided with the video…
Thanks for sharing these resources. It’s also worth mentioning that wikis are a quick and easy tool to generate a body of collective knowledge. With time, this knowledge can become an intricate web of information that is indexable and searchable.
THe EU will indeed make major changes – due to legislation that stems from the fact that they look after their own, a dynamic change indeed!
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Wikis are definitely a great way to collaborate with a student group. Some other tools that help include chat,task management systems, document storage/sharing, and discussion boards.
One helpful resource is http://www.grouptable.com
It’s definitely worth checking out in addition to wikis.