What is Wiki

Wiki is a web technology used for collaborative publishing on the web. Wiki is a type of server software that allows you to work with data on a remote server on the Web. Users interact with the software through a web interface that lets them read, edit and publish content.

At the user's level, a wiki is a website with an “Edit” button. Clicking the “Edit” button allows you to edit the current page and save it for other Internet users to see. Like any other website, it is accessed through a website address, also known as URL which can be bookmarked and shared. It can also be accessed from any device with an Internet connection. Technically, a wiki site is not different from any other sites, with one exception — you and your students can create and edit it together.

Wiki is used for collaborative publishing. A group of co-authors can freely add and change the content of the wiki website: rewrite texts, add new texts and images, add and link pages and more. To do so, the group needs access to the website via the Internet and proper authorization. The wiki owner can restrict editing to a group of collaborators (e. g., students or colleagues), publish to a wiki individually or open it for global editing by everyone on the web.

Unlike other publishing platforms, wikis are:
• heavily based on collaboration,
• non-linear and not based on time (unlike blogs),
• are purely content-oriented (unlike conventional content management systems, that are design-driven).

Genres of wiki sites include
Encyclopedias (ex. Wikipedia) serving as information resource, this site attracts hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world to contribute, and hundreds of millions to read.

Corporate wikis are knowledge bases that collect corporate rules and practices, workflows, regulations and case studies that accumulate in a company over the years of operation. Corporate wikis are used to train new employees and harness the power of corporate synergy. Due to their commercial nature, corporate wikis are only available to company employees, thereby cannot be demonstrated in this article.

Fan wikis are websites dedicated to a specific field that excites a group of people. From Anime lovers to beer brewers, from film fans to architects and designers, wikis supply the platform for them to share their knowledge, passion and expertise. Examples of fan wikis:
• Ben Ten Fan Fiction wiki
• God of War series wiki
• Alice in Wonderland wiki
• Gymnastics Wiki

Educational wikis are mainly collective research projects. Focused around problem-oriented issues, these projects are typically developed by students and moderated by their teachers (often more than one teacher per project, especially in cross-disciplinary projects). In a short time span, these projects accumulate knowledge, expertise and research results of student groups. A wiki can also be used in education as a classroom resource center and a collaboration environment. See more on educational wiki use in the following sections.