Introduction to Wiki Technology

Warren T. Jones, Ph.D., P.E.

Course Outline

Wikis are part of the larger emerging second generation of web tools, sometimes called Web 2.0, that supports collaboration and social networking. They are seen as contributing to the further flattening of business organization structures. This new mode of peer interaction in the corporate world has been predicted to displace traditional corporate hierarchies as wealth generators in the economy. Potential engineering productivity impacts include reduction in email overload, software engineering team collaboration, project management collaboration, meeting planning and corporate competitive intelligence activities.  Many expect that wiki skills will be commonplace in job descriptions in the near future. This course reviews wiki technology, compares wikis with other Web 2.0 technologies, presents implementation strategies, provides some evaluation guidelines, reviews strengths and weaknesses and presents some typical enterprise wiki applications.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• have an understanding of wiki technology;
• acquire insights into the impact of the emerging wave of social networking;
• understand the strengths of wikis;
• appreciate the limitations of wiki;
• gain an understanding of wikis compared to other Web 2.0 technologies;
• learn the various implementation strategies;
• learn guidelines for evaluation and selection of wikis;
• know examples of enterprise applications of wikis; and
• be able to locate additional resources for further study of wiki technology.
  
  

Intended Audience

This course is intended for all engineers.


Course Content

The course content is in a PDF file:

Introduction to Wiki Technology

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.

 

TABLE OF CONTENT

Module #1:  Introduction
Module #2:  What is a Wiki?      
Module #3:  Wikis Compared to Other Popular Web 2.0 Technologies
Module #4:  Wiki Implementations
Module #5:  Which Wiki?
Module #6:  Wiki Capabilities and Limitations
Module #7:  Enterprise Applications and Implications

Course Summary

This course presents an overview of wiki technology as part of the larger landscape of emerging social networking technologies. Insights are provided into how social networking and its potential for mass collaboration can transform organizations by leveraging bottom-up facilitate strategies along with the traditional command and control management organization. Strengths and weaknesses of wikis are discussed along with evaluation guidelines and enterprise applications that can impact the engineering corporate community.  References and web site resources are provided for those who desire more in-depth information.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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