The subject this week, as you may have guessed, is wikis.
Now unlike the rest of the world who spend most of their life looking things up, I’m not a huge fan of Wikipedia so I wasn’t really looking forward to this subject and I would love to say I’m a convert..................but I'm not.
It must just be me but I really don’t get it!!!! Someone tell me what is so great about Wikipedia? I get that it’s full of information but so what? Usually it’s so full of information that it’s completely boring and is it even right?
Anyone at all can create a wiki and anyone at all can update Wikipedia. It may not be completely factual information but they can make you believe it.
So, what is a wiki? The easy explanation is that it’s a website that users can collaborate on using software to create and edit web pages and link to other pages. It can be a single page or hundreds and it's designed by the users. You can collaborate with someone on the other side of the world but hey, I struggle with someone in the same room so why would I want to work with someone in another continent!
You don’t need to be an IT expert to be able to use a wiki so why then was it so difficult to actually create one in the first place? But most importantly, tell me why, why, why do they need to be so unattractive?????
THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME!!!!
Don’t tell me that they don’t because they do.
Yes, I know you can change the font. Yes, I know you can change the colour but THEY STILL LOOK THE SAME!!!! Go and look at a wiki, any wiki, and tell me it’s not true.
So, when I sat in my lecture on Thursday and watched a clip about wikis which made them look so cool and interesting and different, I rushed off to make my own only to discover it’s not easy!
Don't let me put you off. Watch the clip, it’ll inspire you Wikis in Plain English for all you geeks out there.
Anyway, the lab task this week was to create either a wiki or a Google Doc all about guess what? Yes you got it. Wikis. I know you won’t believe this but I actually enjoyed this. Don’t fall over........... but being able to make something with 2 other people (or even one) is not usually my idea of fun but, this task was actually quite acceptable.
Was this because we worked so well together?..........Eh, no.
Was this because the subject was so interesting?...............Eh, no.
Was this because I was doing something practical? Possibly, but I honestly think it was because I could see how beneficial this could be to a business. It was easy to see what the actual practical benefits of using a wiki are like once it’s up and running, it is really easy to update. The changes are instant and you don't need to wait for your group to agree. If they don’t like what you’ve done they’ll change it (and I’ll never talk to them again.......kidding..... not)
Did I email or text them to say I’d updated it? No. Hey, that’s a big deal for me! I’m usually totally overkill but, there’s no need, they’d have seen it. Why hassle them?
My only complaint now with wikis, is that I wish I’d known about them last semester when we did a group presentation. It would have made things so much easier!
So, even though it looks like I’ll need to learn how to make animated video clips for myself, I’ll console myself with the fact that if at any point in time my boss wants me to be involved in a wiki, at least I’ll know what it’ll look like.
Now unlike the rest of the world who spend most of their life looking things up, I’m not a huge fan of Wikipedia so I wasn’t really looking forward to this subject and I would love to say I’m a convert..................but I'm not.
It must just be me but I really don’t get it!!!! Someone tell me what is so great about Wikipedia? I get that it’s full of information but so what? Usually it’s so full of information that it’s completely boring and is it even right?
Anyone at all can create a wiki and anyone at all can update Wikipedia. It may not be completely factual information but they can make you believe it.
So, what is a wiki? The easy explanation is that it’s a website that users can collaborate on using software to create and edit web pages and link to other pages. It can be a single page or hundreds and it's designed by the users. You can collaborate with someone on the other side of the world but hey, I struggle with someone in the same room so why would I want to work with someone in another continent!
You don’t need to be an IT expert to be able to use a wiki so why then was it so difficult to actually create one in the first place? But most importantly, tell me why, why, why do they need to be so unattractive?????
THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME!!!!
Don’t tell me that they don’t because they do.
Yes, I know you can change the font. Yes, I know you can change the colour but THEY STILL LOOK THE SAME!!!! Go and look at a wiki, any wiki, and tell me it’s not true.
So, when I sat in my lecture on Thursday and watched a clip about wikis which made them look so cool and interesting and different, I rushed off to make my own only to discover it’s not easy!
Don't let me put you off. Watch the clip, it’ll inspire you Wikis in Plain English for all you geeks out there.
Anyway, the lab task this week was to create either a wiki or a Google Doc all about guess what? Yes you got it. Wikis. I know you won’t believe this but I actually enjoyed this. Don’t fall over........... but being able to make something with 2 other people (or even one) is not usually my idea of fun but, this task was actually quite acceptable.
Was this because we worked so well together?..........Eh, no.
Was this because the subject was so interesting?...............Eh, no.
Was this because I was doing something practical? Possibly, but I honestly think it was because I could see how beneficial this could be to a business. It was easy to see what the actual practical benefits of using a wiki are like once it’s up and running, it is really easy to update. The changes are instant and you don't need to wait for your group to agree. If they don’t like what you’ve done they’ll change it (and I’ll never talk to them again.......kidding..... not)
Did I email or text them to say I’d updated it? No. Hey, that’s a big deal for me! I’m usually totally overkill but, there’s no need, they’d have seen it. Why hassle them?
My only complaint now with wikis, is that I wish I’d known about them last semester when we did a group presentation. It would have made things so much easier!
So, even though it looks like I’ll need to learn how to make animated video clips for myself, I’ll console myself with the fact that if at any point in time my boss wants me to be involved in a wiki, at least I’ll know what it’ll look like.
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