Wiki’s

Wiki’s are webpages designed so that anyone can contribute to the content and design of the page.  The name wiki comes from the Hawaiian word for fast, and are meant to allow the everyday user contribute to websites without having to know a complex computer language.  The best known wiki is, wikipedia – the online collaboratively written encyclopedia.  Take a look at the wikipedia definition of a wiki:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki

And watch another video:

Chances are you have viewed, and used a few wiki’s without knowing it.  Some other examples of wiki’s are:

Library Success: http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

wikiHow:  http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page

Wikitionary:  http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Main_Page

Anyone can make a wiki using simple wiki creating websites.  Some are:

http://pbwiki.com/

http://www.wikispaces.com/

http://www.wetpaint.com/

Now that you know more about wiki’s, take a look at some wiki’s.  Either use one of the links in the above article, or one you have looked at.  How does a wiki format make a website different from traditional websites?  How could a library use a wiki?  Write about your thoughts in your blog!