"Imagine a public park with a wall set aside for mural artists. Anyone could show up at any time and start painting, adding to existing images, filling blank space, or whitewashing as much as they like. A wiki is an analogous public space, but it's on the web."

-Wiki 101

So, exactly what is a wiki?

• Abbreviation for What I Know Is
• A Web-based encyclopedia
• A piece of server software
• A website that allows users to add and edit content
• An encyclopedia truly written by The People of the world

Want more?
The definition of wiki at Wikipedia on April 13th, 2006 was as follows:

A wiki (IPA: [wi.ki] <wee-kee> or [w.ki] <wick-ey>^[1]) is a type of website that allows anyone visiting the site to add, to remove, or otherwise to edit all content, very quickly and easily, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative writing. The term wiki is a shortened form of wiki wiki which is from the native language of Hawaii (Hawaiian), where it is commonly used as an adjective to denote something "quick" or "fast" (Hawaiian dictionary).

The term Wiki can also refer to the collaborative software itself (wiki engine) that facilitates the operation of such a website (see wiki software).

In essence, a wiki is a simplification of the process of creating HTML pages combined with a system that records each individual change that occurs over time, so that at any time, a page can be reverted to any of its previous states. A wiki system may also include various tools, designed to provide users with an easy way to monitor the constantly changing state of the wiki as well as a place to discuss and resolve the many inevitable issues, namely, the inherent disagreement over wiki content. Wiki content can also be misleading, as users are bound to add incorrect information to the wiki page.

Most wikis will allow completely unrestricted access so that people are able to contribute to the site without necessarily having to undergo a process of 'registration', as had usually been required by various other types of interactive websites such as Internet forums or chat sites.

The first wiki, WikiWikiWeb, is named after the "Wiki Wiki" line of Chance RT-52 buses in Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii. It was created in 1994 and installed on the web in 1995 by Ward Cunningham, who also created the Portland Pattern Repository.

Wiki is sometimes interpreted as the backronym for "What I know is", which describes the knowledge contribution, storage and exchange function.

Of course, the world's definition today will be slightly different, so you may want to visit Wikipedia for the latest. There was also an eSchool News article about wiki use in the classroom that you might find helpful.

If you are ready to give it a try...

• Go to http://www.wikipedia.org
• Click English
• Remember your “claim to fame”?
• Type it in the search box
• Read the definition
• Click the edit this page tab
• Edit the definition

Now that you are an expert...
You can try our wiki at http://usd259itd.wetpaint.com.

Looking for the Wikis, Blogs and Websites presentation?