Puppet Show 2.0 (Wikis)

(Bobby, a fifth grader at Salty Hills Elementary is sitting in his room, typing at his computer when his best friend Sally walks in. Let’s listen in . . . . )

Sally: Hey Bobby.

Bobby: Oh, hey Sally. How’s it going?

Sally: I’m fine. What are you doing?

Bobby: I’m creating a wiki.

Sally: A what-y?

Bobby: No, a wiki.

Sally: What’s a wiki?

Bobby: Well Sally, in Hawaiian “wiki” means “quick.”

Sally: Oh. Okay. Ummm, Bobby that still doesn’t tell me what it is.

Bobby: I know. Hang on a sec, let me finish. Basically, a wiki is a quick and easy way for a whole group of people to create a website without having to know much about computers. Anybody can add to or edit the information in the site.

Sally: Oh . . . . . Ummm, Bobby? I’m still kind of confused.

Bobby: Take me, for example. Right now I’m creating a wiki for people interested in all of the fun things kids can do in town. I’ll create the site and list the activities I know about like the skating rink, the water park, and the drive-in theater. Somebody else might come along and add a great new children’s museum they visited. Another person might know of a cool new library, and add that. And that’s how the wiki grows!

Sally: Oh, I think I get it. So I can create a wiki about anything I want to, and other people can add to it?

Bobby: Yeah, that’s right.

Sally: I think I’m going to create a wiki about Hello Kitty and why I think it’s dumb.

Bobby: You can, Sally. The only thing is, people who like Hello Kitty might be offended and change the things you said or delete the site altogether. They might even say mean things about you.

Sally: They can do that?

Bobby: Well yeah, sort of. Sally, if you want to create a site where you have total control over the information, you’re probably better off creating either a blog or some other type of website. That way you and you alone get to decide what is said.

Sally: Oh.

Bobby: Or, you could still make your wiki but you could change it so that it welcomes all points of view regarding Hello Kitty. Maybe you could call it, “Hello Kitty: Diverging Viewpoints.” That way, people with all sorts of opinions would feel welcome updating the site and expressing their views. Several libraries have created wikis where people have listed their favorite book titles. This is a great way for one person to be able to share a favorite book with many other users.

Sally: Hey, that’s a pretty good idea.

Bobby: Thanks, Sally. There’s only one more thing to remember.

Sally: What’s that?

Bobby: Your wiki should be updated on a regular basis.

Sally: You mean, once I set it up I have to keep working on it?

Bobby: Kind of, yeah. Sally, one of the strengths wikis offer is that they provide up to date information. For example, if you ran a library and created a wiki listing “New Children’s Books,” but never updated the titles, you’d eventually end up with a list of “new” books that are actually several years old. Your wiki would no longer be very useful.

Sally: I think I’m beginning to understand it all.

Bobby: You know Sally, if you’d like to learn more about wikis there are a couple helpful sites such as “Wikis in Plain English” (http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english) and “Wiki’s: A Beginner’s Look” (http://meredith.wolfwater.com/cil06/). I personally found the “Wikis in Plain English” video very helpful AND entertaining.

Sally: Thanks, Bobby. Wow, wikis can be pretty complicated, huh? I think my head is starting to hurt. Hey, Bobby.

Bobby: Yeah, Sally?

Sally: I don’t think I’m ready to make a wiki just yet. Do you wanna go play catch?

Bobby: Sure, Sally. I’d love to.

THE END