Wikis

=WIKIS=

Technical Descritption
Wikis are a website repository that is heavily focused on collaborative, community based writing and editing. Wikis are an similar to blogs in that they make updating a website very easy. A user clicks on edit, and can just type text into the current page on the wiki. Most wikis also allow formatting of the text, such as bold, headings, lists and linking. That last part is important, as wikis usually heavily link to other pages on the wiki.

Other users can come along and edit the current page as well. They can add, change or remove text. This allows the community to form a consensus on the direction of the wiki. Most wikis are based on a single topic. This can range from all human knowledge, such as Wikipedia, to a specific topic such as Web 2.0 Tool Overview, such as this wiki. This wiki is hosted on Wikispaces. It is one of the more popular wiki based solutions.

Educational Usage
There are many ways to use wikis in and educational environment, many that are similar to blogs. Teachers can have a repository of in class lessons and homework assignments. Each page can be a different topic. Other teachers in the same grade level can add notes and other changes.

Another use can be students doing a research project. Each student can create a page, and then other students can edit it and make changes. This can be a whole class, or even a whole grade level project.