8. Add an entry to the Learning 2.0 Sandbox wiki

“Sandbox” is the term that wikis and other online applications often use to describe an area of a web site that can be used for playing and experimenting. We’ve created a whole Sandbox wiki for the Learning 2.0@Becker project where participants can get a feel for working with wikis.

Our Sandbox Wiki uses TikiWiki software. TikiWiki is very robust software, allowing many different features to be activated (including blogs, forums, articles, and image galleries). One of its great features is the level of permissions available. Permissions can be assigned to a specific user, to groups of users, to specific wiki pages, and to sections of the Wiki. In fact, there are 170 different permissions that can be assigned. Since the strength of a wiki lies in the ability of many people to contribute content (relying on the idea of radical trust), we’ve opened up the permissions, allowing registered users to make edits, upload images, attach files, and create new pages.

So your first step is to register as a user. At the top of the right side of the home page is a link to register.

Enter a username, password and email address, and type in the captcha registration code. You will receive a confirmation email with a hyperlink to complete the registration process. Then, log in as a user and explore the L2 Sandbox wiki.

Notice the icons that allow you to edit and attach documents.

Once you click on the Edit icon or button make sure to open up the Quicktags link. This opens up a visual list of the edit tools (including bold, underline, links). This is a great way to get acquainted with the TikiWiki syntax.

Resources:

• TikiWiki for Smarties

Exercise:

• Go to the http://beckerlibrary.net/testwiki/
• Register as a user and login
• Try some basic editing. At a minimum, add an entry to the My Favorite Things page.
• Blog about your experience in the world of wikis. Did you find it difficult? How did you like the user interface? Did you find navigation difficult? How did you like working with wiki syntax? Would you have preferred a WYSIWYG editor? Were there any pages that you couldn’t edit as a registered user?

Optional Exercise:

• Learn more about TikiWiki software by perusing the excellent online reference guide, TikiWiki for Smarties.
• Go for broke. Add a new page or pages to the Sandbox wiki. Create external links and links to other parts of the wiki. Upload an image.