Tuesday, January 30, 2007

The Case Wiki

Wiki (a Hawaiian word meaning "quick") pages are essentially collaborative software tools that allow many users to gather and publish information. By far the best-known use of the software is the
Wikipedia, which now contains 1.6 million entries in English alone (it also has counterparts in nine other languages as well). But its uses are hardly limited to collaboratively written encyclopedias. My friend Anton Zuiker also used the tool brilliantly to efficiently manage an astoundingly ambitious science blogging conference he recently co-organized in North Carolina's Research Triangle (more about which soon).

I also mentioned in my year-round roundup a few weeks ago that Case Western Reserve University would be building one to help the historian editors gather more and better information for the next edition of the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. But the official Case wiki is about so much more. According to this article from Case Magazine, the Case wiki "lowers the barriers to publishing information" and "offers students a new pathway to learning." Says one law professor, who uses wikis in his legal writing class, "given the right authorship group, I think it can produce a terrific product"--in this case, a legal brief. Please note the nice wiki-like touch to the story. According to the author credit line at the end of the piece, no fewer than three writers contributed to the article.

6 Comments:

At 3:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

you sure the corect term isnt wikiwiki? might check... i think the shorter was jus convenient because it rhimes with "quickie"...

also, happiness thread continud in theis piece...

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-daum20jan20,0,3375627.column?coll=la-util-op-ed

 
At 12:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My take on wikis is here: http://mistersugar.com/article/4092/a-bit-about-wikis

 
At 10:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

nice posting but, are you fluent in Hawaiin? i'm with oddjob. its "wikiwiki." until someone can prove otherwisse. various sites concurr...

 
At 10:23 AM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

I learned something here. But I'm glad my friend Anton, who spent a few formative years living in Hawaii (and whose dad still does live there) weighed in. I gladly defer to his knowledge in this area, and expect he'll perhaps add his additional thoughts to this thread when he gets a moment.

 
At 2:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I try to avoid scientific debates that risk ending in bloodshed, but I happen to have a colleague who is Hawaiian. Although she did not grow up speaking the language, her parents know it well. Here is what her father wrote in an email to her:

"No reason for further debate. Wikiwiki is a Hawaiian word for “quick." It is always used as a complete word and is also the name for one of the transportation systems here, the Wikiwiki bus."

So Mr./Ms. Oddjobs may have it right...

 
At 3:17 PM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

Hey, thanks, m hynson, for that great addition to the subject, and from a new commenter no less. Thanks for taking a moment to join the conversation.

 

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