What's+a+Wiki?

Chances are, you've heard of Wikipedia, the online source of information about nearly any topic you can imagine. You've probably also heard--or even told your students--don't depend on Wikipedia if you are looking for definite facts. Why? Wikipedia is likely the largest, most well-known wiki in existence. It deems itself the "free encyclopedia." And that it is. What is different about Wikipedia, and any wiki for that matter, is the nature of how a wiki comes to be and lives.

According to Wikipedia, "a **wiki** is a [|website] that allows the creation and editing of any number of [|interlinked] [|web pages] via a [|web browser] using a simplified [|markup language] or a [|WYSIWYG] text editor." Wikis are websites. Wikis are simple to create and easy to edit. Wikis allow people with a common interest or goal to work together on a common product. Wikis can have content controlled through editorial processes or they may allow any content to be posted to the wiki. A wiki, however, is not the typical viewable web page. Users can update, modify and create new information to be part of the wiki. Once you have requested permission to be part of a wiki, you are able to become a contributor to that wiki.

In this age of information, a wiki can be a marvelous tool.