Re: [seul-edu] Reservations about Wikis: Site tools for Schoolforge

[Jeff Nelson <jtnelson@emirates.net.ae>]

So as to not get bogged down in a discussion of tools, this will (probably) 
be my last posting on the topic of wikis vs. sourceforge-like tools.  

David had some comments about wikis, which Larry addresses below.  IMHO, it 
the advantages and disadvantages vary a lot depending on which wiki software 
you use.  I'm using Pwiki on several sites right now, and it does allow you 
to control which users can edit which pages and sections.  Twiki allows even 
more fine-grained control.  A major advantage is that all the data entry is 
done in a web page, so you don't have much of a learning curve for users.  
(Though there is a little bit of a curve, as I've learned recently--maybe 
more about that in an article on opensourceschools.org?) Part of my thinking 
is that sourceforge-like tools, such as cvs, have a learning curve that would 
discourage most non-programmers.  

I agree with David's comment that if we use a sourceforge-like tool with cvs, 
that the tool must be easy to use and contained entirely in a browser.  

I think wikis and sourceforge both have aspects that we should have in any 
tool we choose or develop.  

Interesting discussion, all...

(Also--I vote for "schoolforge".)  

Jeff Nelson

On Friday 30 November 2001 17:43, you wrote:
> > Ok. If I'm wrong, please point out how. My reservations about Wiki's for
> > curriculum are:
>
> David,
>
> I think your reservations about wikis come from some
> common misconceptions about wikis. I have found them
> to be extremely valuable tools for curriculum and
> curriculum development. As I mentioned in a previous
> post, I don't think a wiki is the best primary tool for
> Schoolforge, but I do think that wikis are an important
> tool to include in any educational package.
>
> Rather than go on about it here, I opened a page in the
> seul-edu wiki.
>
> http://www.seul.org:8080/wiki/edu/WhatGoodIsaWiki
>
> Maybe any people interested in this topic could post
> replies to the wiki page as an experiment?
>
> Doug, is this ok? I don't want to suggest anything
> that diverts the main content of the mailing
> list. (Although for this thread that would be like
> trying to divert a fire hose with one of those
> little tiny plastic red straws ...)
>
> L. Prevett
> Mathematics Instructor
> Cochise College, Sierra Vista, AZ, US
> prevettl@cochise.cc.az.us