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From The Peopling of New York City

Contents 1 Welcome to Seminar 2 Wiki - The Peopling of New York City 1.1 What is a Wiki? 1.2 Advantages of a Wiki over a Traditional html Page 1.3 A Wiki Challenge :) 1.4 Getting Started

Welcome to Seminar 2 Wiki - The Peopling of New York City

What is a Wiki?

• wiki – (def.) Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly. Wikipedia is probably the best known wiki, and is powered by MediaWiki, the same software that powers our wiki.

• A wiki is unique among group communication mechanisms in that it allows all users to create and edit its content.

• Wiki wiki means “rapidly” in Hawaiian

Advantages of a Wiki over a Traditional html Page

A wiki is a dynamic website that allows multiple users to edit it at the same time from different computers and different locations. This is not generally possible with a static website. A wiki is an ideal environment for collaboration on large projects, since users can edit and comment on each other's content, and users are able to see who contributed what.

The greatest advantage, however, is that it is on the most cutting edge of softwares used in classrooms today. Columbia University has been using wikis creatively and meaningfully through their Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CNMTL).

Most importantly, many Seminar 2 projects have become wiki-based projects, so this workshop will get you started in thinking broadly and creatively on how "Web 2.0" can enhance your learning experience.

A Wiki Challenge :)

A wiki is not "wysiwyg" ("what you see is what you get," another term for on-screen formatting) so you will need to learn some of the basic formatting for text, such as creating headings and bullets, and formatting links. However, you get used to these commands quickly, and you can find help by following the links on the help page. Under Getting Started (below) you will also find a link for tips on formatting. You can always click on "show preview" to see if you have the desired formatting was achieved, but be sure to click "save" to confirm your changes. You can also "revert" your page to a previous state as a means of undoing changes that your have confirmed.

Getting Started

Be sure to create your account by clicking the "Login/Create Account" link at the top of the page. You must be logged in to edit content on the wiki, but a user does not need to be logged in to read content.

Create your own page introducing yourself to the community. On it, you can add not only text content, but also photo galleries, YouTube videos, and GoogleMaps. I created a See bio page as an example of what you can do. Below are some helpful links to orient you to MediaWiki's interface.

• Tips on Formatting
• You can upload files by clicking on the link in the sidebar.
• Help page of this wiki where you can find a more extensive list of links and a guide to creating pages and adding content.