Here I go again. Possibly moaning. At least another petulant rave about something. I started (on Leigh’s prompting) to explore the world of Wiki’s. I was immediately thrown back years to my Sinclair Spectrum ZX80 or something. It was the first computer I ever bought and boy was it fantastic for the time. Fifteen whole K (yes (15K) of memory. Probably about the size of a very small email. But it was just so powerful. I wanted to write a maths program that could do all my t-test, correlations. Regressions, ANOVA’s, factor analysis, and regressions and I found one written for Apple in Basic so I started to program the damn thing. Totally illogical and incomprehensible language that was made for people who didn't want anyone else to be able to master computing.
And it was just like my first experience with a Wiki. What a complicated language. And does it need to be? No. It has a basic toolbar which could be added to so that all those brackets and bars and dots could be done away with. Leigh tells me that someone, somewhere, is working on it. About time.
It is a fantastic idea, and the quality of information on Wikipedia attests to how useful and informative it can be, aside from all those rogues from Air NZ, Greenpeace, NZ Govt, etc who try and alter the pages so their organisation looks a little better.
And yes! I did get the little 15K Sinclair to perform my stats. Unfortunately, by that time bigger, better computers had come along and had ready made packages that did it faster and better.
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5 comments:
Hi Graeme
I remember the ZX81(?) as my brother-in-law had one - I was 11! I remember the one game he had, on tape, that took about half an hour to load and when it did, it was rubbish!
I hear what you're saying about how all this new technology/software comes with its own language which can create an instant barrier. I think a lot of teachers are turned off by blogs, wikis, forums etc. because of this initial issue.
I think the idea of a wiki is great for group work. I've not had the chance to use this with a class but keen to give it a go at some point.
Yvonne
Thanks Yvonne. On a serious note - although the ZX81 was small and slow it taught me an enormous amount about computers and computer language and also my son who at the time was about 8 or 9. He is now a software engineer and attributes a lot of his knowledge to that old computer. It's funny how memory distorts but I remeber the long loading (about the same as a dial up connection) but I also remember fantastic games, graphic programs, applications, word processing, and non PacMan type board games.
Hi G, there is a wiki with this toolbar. It is Wikispaces.com - it is free for anyone to set up and use, but it comes with Google ads :(
The MediaWiki syntax you are referring to is widely talked about as both a barrier and a benefit... Wikipedia uses the same syntax but clearly it is not limited by the apparent lack of usability. There are theories that the seeming complexity of the syntax (which is actually very simple) is a key motivational factor for people creating content on the platform. The idea is that people who have spent the 3 hours learning how to write in MediaWiki syntax (yes it only takes 3 hours) feel special for their new skill, and so become very attached to the creative process.
Another theory is that the apparent barrier keeps the anarchic hoards out :)
your moderating comments now! Very uncool mister :( what? I might say something you don't like? Is that what you're thinking. You have trouble trusting me? is that what you're saying? Or is it the marauding hoards you're concerned about? Defacing your precious blog?
;) your call of course G, just letting you know the message I get when I try to make a comment isn't all that positive.
You can always delete a comment if you don't want it on here. I reckon you should turn off comment moderation and reward the people who take the time to comment on your blog with a gesture of trust and acceptance. You could turn on word verification if it is spam advertising you're worried about.
Hi Graeme, I have been playing with a wiki on wikispaces and its driving me mad. I just seem to go round and round, wasting time and not getting anywhere. It doesn't help that I can't get people to take part. I guess that comes back to what Sheryl was saying on Tuesday, that building an online community is hard work. Cheers Sarah
http://sarah-stewart.blogspot.com/
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