The Wonders of Wikis!

A successful and effective wiki will have a number of characteristics unique to this social and collaborative technology as discussed in High Tech Learning: Learning Spaces: Collaborative web and wikis, 2006.

• Good organization - makes good use of hyperlinks to connect information and ideas


• Flexibility and structure - although structure is important, there must be opportunity to expand and look deeper into a concept or the content


• Collaboration - people working together toward a common goal will have bigger and better results than when people work in isolation or independently, a virtual team


• Passion and enthusiasm - need to maintain a high energy level through quality questioning


• Evolving - in a constant state of change and neverending


• Open editing - anyone can add or edit anything at any time, although some wikis require contributors to register


• Unique content - identify and create something that isn't available

As wikis' use increases in popularity, what constitutes a true wiki will be up for debate. The previous list of fundamental characteristics can be a guide when creating a successful and effective wiki.