Wiki by design...

Example of good design

Visiting wikis during this course I am reminded that good design should apply whether it be a web or a wiki. The Emerging Technologies Knowledge Garden page is very uninviting - too much text, little organisation and too much scrolling!

Cernohous (2007) observes that the vastness of the web conceals information. Relevant information is sometimes hard to locate on the web. Wikis can bring solutions for centralizing , organizing and disseminating information relevant to users. This is why its even more important that wikis be inviting spaces, well organised and use space, navigation and good web design practices.

Cernohous, Steve. Athletic Therapy Today, May2007, Vol. 12 Issue 3, p2-5,

Wiki culture...

As I work my e-book page, I am discovering more about wiki culture. The following is taken from The Open Content wiki

Maintain a Neutral Point of View (NPOV). Present information straight forward using language that would make it difficult to tell who wrote it - neutral.

I have noticed that a lot of comments on pages seem to be editorial in nature (eg. in my opinion, I think that). I have edited others pages this way myself. In future I will try for the NPOV tone, backing up statements with authoritive citations.

Learning languages through social networking

italki.com is a Web 2.0 application that is creating language learning communities around the world. On this site you can find a language partner or group, share language resources and participate in language activities.

This application can reduced the isolation many L2 learners feel and create a sense of community. L2 learners can learn from their peers and build language learning communities. Working with others in this way could help to overcome anxiety and low self confidence that offen hampers second language acquisition in a classroom setting.

"Google Docs and Spreadsheets is like pure collaborative oxygen"...

I have just read Asra's facilitated page about Sharepoint and have started to do some research to contribute some thoughts. Having read and used the functionality of Sharepoint, I am wondering if GoogleDocs is a light weight but 'free' alternative. Could this be a similar experience between WebCT and Moodle?

"There are a great many users who only require the most basic of functionality out of their productivity software but who also end up with something like Microsoft Office if for no other reason than compatibility with the other people they interact with" (Berlind).

Berlind suggests that many people do not need the high-end advanced tools like Sharepoint offered by Microsoft. GoogleDocs and Googlespreadsheets need no local software or specific operating system or system administrators with GoogleDocs and Googlespreadsheets all you to begin collaborating with someone else, all you need is a browser.

Perhaps the commercial and freeware products both have a place depending on the needs of the user and their environment.

Facebook no longer 'is'...

In an article in todays addition of the SMH, it has been reported that the users of Facebook have brought about a gramatical change - Each update started with the member's name and "is," followed by a blank box - until today - Users now supply all their own verb.

This may seem a small thing, but to many English as second language speakers, it comes as a victory against the very English-specific way many social networks operate. Facebook hasn't translated its site into languages other than English, but is planning to do this next year.

Collaboration or plagiarism?

In my quest for all things emerging, I came across Scriptova, a site created by 18 year old Aseem Badshah. Referring to it as a YouTube or Flickr for academic documents, "Scriptovia.com is an online community for students to collaborate and receive feedback on their academic work. This includes essays, notes, lab reports, presentations, and everything else students create to advance their knowledge" (Scriptova.com). Students can upload their work so that others can review, make suggestions or use as part of their own work.

In an interview, Aseem was asked about the line between collaboration and plagiarism. Aseem suggested that school should be like the real world of work, where the goal is to take what is known and improve upon it. Knowledge should be built upon, rather than reinvented. This way knowledge becomes more analytical and real innovation occurs.

One of the keys to this kind of collaboration is to ensure that the foundation knowledge is built upon quality information. Aseem suggests that students should be taught how to research and how to evaluate, then taught how to collaborate for a true learning experience.

I have uploaded one of my old essays and await the results :)

"Web 2.0 is like obscenity"

This weekend I attended a conference - you guessed it - all about Web 2.0 (specifically Library 2.0)! The presenter defined web 2.0 as like obscenity - different to different people, depending on your own interpretations of the world around you.

Web 2.0 technologies are -

• easier to interact with than a normal web page
• seem to know there is a person at the computer
• a service model with a user centered design
• has network effects by default
• has user generated content and trust

This definition fits well with me and helps me understand the concepts behind the technology. I think the last point user generated content and trust is an important one. It is important to have trust in your community and understand the implications of this trust relationship.