Friday, 12 April 2013

Wiki's and Wikipedia

I have been using wiki's in the past though editing a wiki page or content not so much. When I was volunteering at PROV I assisted in editing their wiki. PROV has decided to close their PROVwiki from 1st of May 2013 to make way for a new format on their website being 'user-created material focussed around particular records and stories.'


(Screen shot of the PROVwiki)

Having used Wikipedia for quick searches and summaries I was familiar with the format. However editing Wikipedia articles is a little complex. An article on Carmen Sandiego's (the classic educational computer game) creator Lauren Elliot was simple to edit. Having never heard of a male 'Lauren' I added a question mark in brackets next to the word 'he.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Elliott I was not able to find 'verification needed / source needed' so I edited the article with a question mark.

For large organisations, wiki's can be quite handy. Dr. Caleb Lack's Abnormal Psychology: An e-text!: http://abnormalpsych.wikispaces.com/ is a great example of ongoing collaborations between students and teachers. The only problem with starting a wiki is the scale of your project. For example, I started an Antelope tracking project, where students in the isys1166 class had to draw an Antelope and I would upload it and they would be able to track, tag and identify it. A wiki page for a project this size would require each member to create an account and sign in to track, tag and identify their image. I feel it's only very effective when there's an on going editing and uploading of content to the project.
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3 comments:

  1. Unknown16 April 2013 at 05:06

    Hi Ed
    I never got the chance to edit a wiki page so it was good to read your take on the process. It is interesting to note that you could not find 'verification needed / source needed' but i think your edit with a ? was a good idea.
    It is quite sad but this post has made me want to go through my old computer games to find my Carmen Sandiego game. i used to love it!

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    Replies
    1. Ed16 April 2013 at 07:06

      Hi Katherine!

      Carmen Sandiego still exists! In an emulated form for nostalgia sake:
      http://www.glennsguides.com/2008/03/where-in-world-is-carmen-sandiego-pc.html
      I'm sure google will eventually find a way to embed Carmen Sandiego into their maps when HTML5 is the standard. I also believe it's available in a different form on facebook.

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    2. Unknown16 April 2013 at 15:16

      Thanks for that news. i am glad that it still exists for today's generation of children. not that i think they would enjoy it that much. I agree with you that Google will probably find a way to embed it into their maps. It would make for an awesome game.

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