Mac OS X Server Wiki Tools Deployment Guide Version 10.
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Contents 7 7 8 9 9 10 Preface: About This Guide What’s in This Guide Documentation Map Viewing PDF Guides Onscreen Printing PDF Guides Getting Additional Information Part I: Wiki Tools Walkthrough 12 12 12 13 13 14 Chapter 1: Overview of Wiki Tools 15 16 17 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 Chapter 2: Using My Page 23 23 24 25 26 26 Chapter 3: Creating Wikis and Blogs Browser Requirements About Wikis About Blogs About Web Calendars About Mailing Lists About My Page Logging In and Logging Out Changing My P
27 28 30 30 31 31 Enabling and Disabling Wiki Services Choosing Who Can Access a Wiki and Setting Access Permissions Adding a Custom Sidebar to the Wiki Homepage Changing Advanced Wiki Settings Creating a Personal Blog Deleting a Personal Blog 32 32 33 34 34 35 35 35 36 37 39 39 40 41 41 42 Chapter 4: Working with Content 43 43 44 45 45 46 46 47 47 48 48 50 Chapter 5: Navigating Wiki Tools 51 51 52 53 55 Chapter 6: Keeping Up to Date 4 Creating Wiki Pages and Blog Posts Deleting Wiki Pages or
7 57 58 58 59 59 59 60 60 60 61 62 62 62 63 64 Chapter 7: Using the Web Calendar 65 65 65 66 67 67 67 68 68 Chapter 8: Viewing Wiki Tools on iPhone or iPod touch Navigating through the Web Calendar Working with Calendars Creating and Deleting Calendars Renaming Calendars Applying Calendar Colors Showing and Hiding Calendars Working with Events Creating, Editing and Deleting Events Sending, Viewing, and Accepting or Rejecting Invitations Changing Event Details Changing Event Notes Rescheduling Events
79 80 Reducing the Need for Single Ownership Maintaining Documents in Wikis Instead of Word Processor Files 82 83 84 85 86 86 Chapter 11: Communicating More Effectively with Wiki Tools 87 87 92 92 92 93 93 94 Chapter 12: Using Wiki Tools in the Classroom Classroom Wiki Blueprint Preventing Misinformation Creating Wiki Yearbooks Posting Assignments on a Wiki Posting Additional Information on a Wiki Using Wikis for Group Sign Up Using Wikis for Persistent Projects 95 Index 6 Choosing the Right Me
Preface About This Guide This guide provides a starting point for using wiki tools. Mac OS X Server includes several web-based tools including wikis, blogs, web calendars, and mailing list archives. Collectively, these are referred to as wiki tools. You can use wiki tools to streamline projects, coordinate teams, and improve communication.
Documentation Map Mac OS X Server v10.6 has a suite of guides that cover managing web services used by wiki tools. The documentation map below shows some related documentation that you need to set up web services for wiki tools. You can get these guides in PDF format from the Mac OS X Server Resources website at www.apple.com/server/macosx/resources/. Getting Started Explains how to set up collaboration services using Server Preferences.
Viewing PDF Guides Onscreen While reading this PDF: ÂÂ Show bookmarks to see the guide’s outline, and click a bookmark to jump to the corresponding section. ÂÂ Search for a word or phrase to see a list of places where it appears in the guide. Click a listed place to see the page where it occurs. ÂÂ Click a cross-reference to jump to the referenced section. Click a web link to visit the website in your browser.
Getting Additional Information For more information, consult these resources: ÂÂ Apple Support website (support.apple.com/)—access hundreds of articles from Apple’s support organization. ÂÂ Apple Discussions website (discussions.apple.com/)—share questions, knowledge, and advice. ÂÂ Apple Mailing Lists website (www.lists.apple.com/)—subscribe to mailing lists so you can communicate using email. ÂÂ Mac OS X Server website (www.apple.
Part I: Wiki Tools Walkthrough Find out about wiki tools and how to use them.
Overview of Wiki Tools 1 Learn about wiki tools. Mac OS X Server v10.6 includes several web-based wiki tools that allow users to express themselves or to easily form, coordinate, and organize teams. Browser Requirements Wiki content can be viewed in any web browser. However, to take advantage of certain features, such as editing wiki pages and viewing the updates list, your browser must support modern web technologies.
Advantage Description Dynamic Because wiki content can be updated by a large group of people, it is much more dynamic than a static medium like PDF. Parallel content creation Multiple people can edit wiki content on different pages simultaneously. Cross-reference information It’s easy to link together information within and outside of the wiki. About Blogs A blog is like an online journal. Entries are arranged chronologically with the newest entries listed first.
About Mailing Lists Every wiki group can have a logged mailing list. All mail sent to the group’s email address is archived in the mailing list. Unlike the wiki and blog, content in logged mailing lists can’t be changed or commented on. However, logged mail can be tagged, and because they each have a URL, you can link to them. The group email address is groupname-wiki@serverurl. For example, if your group’s name is Aardvark and the URL of your wiki server is www.example.
Using My Page 2 Learn about My Page, a personalized hub for wiki tools. Mac OS X Server v10.6 wiki tools include My Page, a personalized hub that makes it easy to get updates on pages you’re interested in, access available wikis and blogs, view your personal calendar, access webmail, and change your personal settings.
About My Page My Page is a personalized central hub for wiki tools. My page Updates Wikis list Group wikis Wiki pages Blog Blog posts Calendar Events Blogs list Personal calendar User blogs Mailing list archive Mailing list entries Blog Blog posts My Page gives you quick access to: ÂÂ Updates View and filter content updates and comments on wiki pages and blog posts. See “Viewing Updates on My Page” on page 51. ÂÂ Wikis Navigate to wikis or create a new wiki.
ÂÂ Mail Access webmail. For information, click Help in webmail. ÂÂ Search Search content across all wikis and blogs you have access to. See “About Searching” on page 44. ÂÂ Settings Change account and personal blog settings. See “Changing My Page Settings” on page 18. Logging In and Logging Out If you’re not logged in, you only have access to publicly accessible wikis and blogs. You can search content across all publicly accessible wikis, but not private wikis or blogs.
Changing My Page Settings When you’re logged in to My Page, you can change your settings.
Changing Account Settings Account Preferences settings include: Setting Description Profile Image Displayed in the upper left corner of My Page, as the default image of your blog, and when you leave comments. Preferred Email Email is sent to this address when: Someone creates a wiki or gives you access to an existing wiki and decides to notify you ÂÂ Mailing lists you belong to receive mail ÂÂ If you don’t set a preferred email address, the wiki uses the address found in your directory record.
Changing Your Mail Rules If your server is configured to support server-side mail rules, you can create mail rules to filter or transfer mail. For example, if you subscribe to mailing lists, you can have emails from them transfer into their own mail folder. You’ll still receive mailing list messages, but they won’t clutter your inbox. To view mail rules: 1 While viewing My Page, click “settings.” 2 Select Mail Rules.
6 In the Email Subject field, enter the subject line of the email that will be sent. 7 In the Vacation Message area, enter the body of the email that will be sent. 8 Click Save. Customizing Your Personal Blog If you’ve already created a personal blog, you can use settings to change its name or theme and to enable podcasting. To view blog settings: mm While viewing My Page, click “settings” and then select Blog. mm While viewing your blog’s homepage, click Settings.
To view blog access settings: 1 While viewing My Page, click “settings.” 2 Select Blog Access. To make your blog publicly accessible: 1 While viewing blog access settings, select “This blog can be read by anyone.” 2 If you want to restrict access to only those with accounts on the server, select “Users must log in to read.” 3 Click Save. To make your blog privately accessible: 1 While viewing blog access settings, select “This blog can only be read by the following people and groups.
Creating Wikis and Blogs 3 Learn how to create and delete wikis and personal blogs. Creating wikis and a personal blog is easy in wiki tools. After creating a wiki, you can choose who can view or edit it, and customize it to suit your team’s needs. About Administrators People who can access a wiki or a blog fall into two categories: administrators and users. Each wiki or blog can have different access permissions, so you might be an administrator for a few wikis and a user for other wikis.
There are two types of administrators: server administrator and individual wiki or blog administrator. A server administrator has administrative privileges for all wikis and blogs on the server. An individual wiki or blog administrator has administrative privileges for a specific wiki or blog. Creating a Wiki Your wiki server can allow anyone who has an account on the wiki server to create a wiki. It can also restrict who can create wikis to a specific group of people.
Option Who can access the wiki Options Public Depending on how you set the the options, anyone who has access to the wiki server or anyone with an account If you want to restrict access to only those with accounts on the server, and require them to log in, select “Users must log in to read.” If you want to allow everyone to read content, but require people to log in to create or edit wiki content, select “Users must log in to write.
Changing Wiki Settings A wiki administrator can change wiki settings.
ÂÂ Font type, size, and spacing ÂÂ Button and toolbar design ÂÂ Layout ÂÂ Banner image Themes are separate from content. When you change a theme, you only change how content looks—not the content itself. To view general wiki settings: mm While viewing a wiki’s settings, click General. To change a wiki’s icon: 1 While viewing a wiki’s general settings, click the image next to Wiki Icon. 2 Click Choose File, choose a file, click Choose, and then click OK. 3 Click Save.
To enable blog podcasts: 1 While editing a wiki’s settings, click Services. 2 Select “Blog.” 3 Select “Create a podcast for this wiki’s blog.” 4 In iTunes Category, choose the category for these podcasts in iTunes. 5 Click Save. Choosing Who Can Access a Wiki and Setting Access Permissions A wiki administrator can control access to a wiki by making it publicly or privately accessible.
When you enter a name, the server checks for matching people or groups. If a match is found, select the match from the menu that appears. If no match is found, make sure you entered the name correctly. If you want to remove a person or group from the access list, hold the cursor over the name and click Delete (X). 4 Click Save. To make a wiki privately accessible: 1 While viewing the wiki’s permissions settings, select “This wiki can be read and edited by only the following users and groups.
To enable comment moderation on a wiki: 1 While viewing the wiki’s permissions settings, choose from the Comment Moderation pop-up menu which type of comments should be moderated. 2 Click Save. Adding a Custom Sidebar to the Wiki Homepage Sidebars are lists of recently updated pages shown on the wiki’s homepage. The default sidebars include: Sidebar Description What’s Hot Lists the most recently updated or new pages that are tagged with “hot,” in reverse chronological order.
To choose specific host names used by the wiki: 1 While editing a wiki’s settings, click Advanced. 2 Choose “Specific host names” from the Virtual Hosts pop-up menu. 3 For every host name, enter it in the field. 4 If you want to remove a host name from the list, hold the cursor over the host name and click Delete (X). You can’t delete the virtual host you’re currently using to access the wiki. 5 Click Save.
Working with Content 4 Learn how to create content in wikis and blogs. Wikis and blogs are powerful tools because they allow many users to contribute content. These tools have a simple yet full-featured toolbar that allows users of all skills to create rich, dynamic pages. After pages are created, other readers can add comments. Creating Wiki Pages and Blog Posts You can create wiki pages and blog posts using the same toolbar.
To create a blog entry: 1 When viewing the blog, click the Create Page (+) button in the toolbar. 2 Enter the name of the new entry and click Create. Deleting Wiki Pages or Blog Posts When you delete a wiki page or blog post, the page remains on the server but its content is removed so the page doesn’t show up in search results. Because they stay on the server, you can restore deleted pages. When you delete a page, the links to that page from other pages are not updated.
Editing Wiki or Blog Content Wiki pages and blog entries share the same editing toolbar.
Changing Paragraph Styles A paragraph style includes font and spacing settings applied to an entire paragraph, not a text selection. To apply a paragraph style: 1 While editing a page, position the insertion point anywhere within a paragraph you’d like to apply a paragraph style to. You can also select multiple paragraphs. The selection can start anywhere in one paragraph and end anywhere in another. 2 Click the Paragraph Style (paragraph mark) button and then choose a paragraph style from pop-up menu.
ÂÂ Colored ÂÂ Highlighted To apply a text style: 1 While editing a page, select the text you want to style. 2 Click the Text Style (A) button and then choose a text style from the pop-up menu. After choosing a text style, the selected text changes to that style. To remove a text style: 1 While editing a page, select the text you want to remove the style from. 2 Click the Text Style (A) button and then choose Plain. After choosing Plain, all text styles applied to the selection are removed.
4 If the name of the page isn’t listed under the divider, choose Search, then, in the search field, enter text found in the page’s title or body. 5 When you find the page, select it and click Link. To link to a web page or a wiki page on another wiki: 1 While editing a page, either select text that you want to link to the page, or position the insertion point where you’d like to add the link. 2 Click the Create Link (curved arrow) button and then choose Enter URL.
ÂÂ GIF ÂÂ QuickTime movie ÂÂ MP3 audio If you upload the following file types, the uploaded copy is converted to PNG format: ÂÂ BMP ÂÂ TIFF ÂÂ PSD ÂÂ DOC ÂÂ RTF ÂÂ PDF (first page only) To embed media files: 1 While editing a page, position the insertion point where you’d like the media to appear. 2 Click the Insert Media (musical staff and pictures) button. 3 Click Choose File, select a media file, and click Choose. To upload several media files, select a zip file containing those media files.
Attaching Files The best way to attach a file for downloading is to create an archive (zip) of the file before uploading it to the server. Folders and complex file formats such as applications and Keynote presentations must be archived before uploading. To embed a media file such as a graphic, movie, or audio file so that people don’t need to download it first, click the Insert Media button instead of the Attach File button. To create an archive: 1 In Finder, select the files you want to compress.
The table editor includes the following options: A B C D E F Button Action A Adds a row. B Adds a column. C Removes a row. D Removes a column. E Changes whether the top-most row is a header row. F Changes whether the left-most column is a header column. 3 Click OK. To remove a table: 1 While editing a page, click a table. 2 Click “delete table.” Viewing and Editing HTML Source You can view the HTML source for a page, which is useful if you’re familiar with HTML.
Using a Blog Editing Application Instead of using the blog to create and edit blog posts, you can use desktop blog editing applications such as MarsEdit or ecto. These applications allow you to write content while you’re offline, and then upload when you connect to the blog server. Blog editing applications must be compatible with MetaWeblog API.
To compare the currently viewed page version with the previous version, click Compare. New content is highlighted in blue, while removed content is highlighted in red with a strikethrough applied to the text. To restore the currently viewed page version, click Restore and then click OK. The restored version becomes the active page version and is marked with the comment “Restored previous version date.” Adding or Removing Comments You can add comments to wiki pages or blog posts.
Navigating Wiki Tools 5 Learn about searching and how to filter pages to show only those you are interested in. In wiki tools, you can search single wikis or blogs, or you can search all the wikis and blogs you have access to.
For example, if you added secret project information to a department wiki, everyone in the department could see the information, whereas people outside the department, who work on the secret project, don’t have access to the department wiki, and so they wouldn’t have access to the secret project content. When you have content that doesn’t fit current wikis, create a wiki for the content. When using wikis, be aware of which wiki you’re currently viewing.
After you find the pages you’re looking for, you can save your search criteria as a smart filter for future use. You can search on the smart filter, which can include text and tags, and then apply more tags to further filter the search results. Searching Across a Single Wiki Searching in a wiki lists pages in that wiki but doesn’t list matching pages located in other wikis. To search for text in a wiki: 1 While viewing a wiki, click the Search (magnifying glass) button.
2 Select tags under the “Filter by Tag” list. Every tag you select filters the search by that tag in addition to the currently applied tag filters. Deselecting a tag stops filtering by that tag. To filter by content type: mm While searching multiple wikis, under “Filter by Type,” click the type of content to view. Saving Your Search When you search multiple wikis, you can save your text-based and tag-based search criteria by creating a smart filter. You can combine smart filters and tags when searching.
There are advantages to using tags: ÂÂ Searching text can produce results that happen to mention what you’re searching for but aren’t necessarily about what you’re looking for. With tags, you’d tag only pages for a specific subject. ÂÂ You can combine tags to find exactly what you’re looking for. For example if you’re working on ProjectX and need to know everything important about it, you can do a search for the “ProjectX” and “hot” tags.
To view all tags sorted by how frequently they’re used: mm Click the Search (magnifying glass) button, leave the search field empty, and press Enter. The tags are listed on the right, with the number of times they’re used shown in parentheses. To view all tags in alphabetical order: mm Click the Search (magnifying glass) button and select “all tags.” Editing and Removing Tags from a Wiki If you’re an administrator for a wiki, you edit or remove existing tags.
ÂÂ You need to categorize or organize your bookmark collection; otherwise, having all bookmarks on a single level becomes cumbersome. Wiki tools provide two improved solutions: tags and stars. Tags are good ways to categorize pages containing similar types of information or content. You can perform a tag-based search and find everything strongly related to a topic or combination of topics. You can create an RSS feed of this tag-based search and then be notified when a tagged page is changed.
Previewing Attachments with Quick Look Quick Look allows you to preview a file without downloading. Quick Look previews are created when a file that can be represented as a series of images (such as a Pages document, a PDF, or a Keynote presentation) is attached to a wiki page or blog post. When you view a Quick Look preview, you view the series of images created by the wiki server, not the actual file. Although you can preview movies and audio in Quick Look, you can’t zoom, pan, or download them.
Keeping Up to Date 6 Learn how to keep up to date with content changes on wiki pages and blog posts. Wiki tools provide two ways of showing changed and new wiki pages and blog posts: ÂÂ My Page—The Updates page in My Page shows all updated wiki pages, blog posts, podcasts, and group mail for wikis and blogs you’re watching. You can filter these pages. ÂÂ RSS—RSS feeds update you when pages are added or changed. You view RSS feeds in a RSS viewer.
To view updates: mm While viewing the Updates page, do the following: To do this Do this View updates, including read pages Click All Updates View unread updates Click Unread Updates Mark updates as read Click Mark All As Read Unread pages are denoted by a blue circle. When the page is read, the circle is cleared.
If you are logged in, the upper-left of the page will show your login name. 3 Click Wikis or Blogs in the toolbar. 4 If you’re not viewing all wikis or blogs, click the All link at the upper-left of the list. The Watched list shows wikis or blogs that are being watched. The My Wikis list shows wikis or blogs you have created. 5 Click the “Watch updates” button at the right of the wiki or blog title to set whether it is watched.
Traditionally, when someone updates a document, they attach that document to an email or upload it to a website and notify everyone that the document has been updated. RSS simplifies and streamlines this process by notifying people when content changes. Whenever anyone—not just the original author, changes a page, anyone who’s interested in the page will have it in an RSS feed and will be notified that it’s changed.
Subscribing to an RSS Feed There are two types of RSS feeds you can subscribe to: single-page RSS feeds and multiple-page RSS feeds. Single-page RSS feeds are feeds of a single page. These feeds are updated when the page changes. Every entry in the feed represents a different version of the same page. Single-page RSS feed ProjectX schedule page Schedule v6 Schedule v5 Schedule v4 Schedule v3 Schedule v2 Schedule v1 Multiple-page RSS feeds are feeds of multiple pages, usually based on a search.
Because you can quickly view changes across a wiki or multiple wikis, multiple-page RSS feeds are much more useful than single-page RSS feeds. You can create multiple-page RSS feeds of: ÂÂ The Updates page in My Page ÂÂ Single-wiki or multiple-wiki search results ÂÂ Blogs ÂÂ Pages you’ve created or edited ÂÂ Starred pages ÂÂ Hot pages You can also combine these to create RSS feeds of exactly what you’re looking for.
Using the Web Calendar 7 Learn about the easy-to-use, highly functional web calendar included in wiki tools. The web calendar allows you to easily schedule events for yourself or your group. As with iCal, you can create multiple calendars, invite people to events, repeat events, and add notes to events. There are two types of web calendars: personal and group. You can send and receive event invitations through the personal calendar but not through the group calendar.
To navigate to a specific date using the minicalendar: mm To change the minicalendar’s month, click the Previous (left arrow) or Next (right arrow) button next to the name of the month. mm To view a specific day, click the day in the mini-calendar. The main calendar keeps its current view (day, week or month) but shows the selected date. To change the minicalendar and the main calendar to show today: mm Click “today.” Working with Calendars You can create multiple calendars for specific purposes.
Renaming Calendars You can rename existing calendars. To rename an existing calendar: 1 While viewing a personal or group calendar, hold the mouse cursor over the calendar you want to rename and then click the Information (i) button. 2 Enter a name for the calendar in the Calendar Name field. 3 Click Save. Applying Calendar Colors A calendar’s color affects the background color of all events in that calendar.
Working with Events You schedule timed events and all-day events in personal or group calendars. If you’re viewing your personal calendar, you can invite other people to your events. Creating, Editing and Deleting Events Timed events, such as meetings and appointments, take place during a specified period of time. You can create timed events in day view, week view, or month view, but they’re easier to create in week view. All-day events are events that take an unspecified amount of time.
If you don’t set a status for an event, the event appears in the calendar with a dotted line border. Accepted and tentatively accepted events have solid border. Declined events are removed from the calendar. To send invitations: 1 While viewing a personal calendar, click an event. 2 Click “invitees;” then, in the invitees pane, enter an attendee’s name in the “Add attendee” field. You can invite people but not groups. As you type an attendee’s name, the calendar attempts to autocomplete the name.
5 To create an all-day event, select “All-Day (Banner) event.” This disables the “start time” and “end time” fields. 6 To put the event in a different calendar, choose a different calendar from the “calendar” pop-up menu. 7 To repeat the event, choose an interval from the “repeat” pop-up menu. To stop repeating the event after a specific number of times, choose After from the “end” pop-up menu and enter the number of times you want the event scheduled.
Changing Calendar Settings The web calendar includes the following settings: Setting Description Timezone Set this to your time zone. This setting affects the accuracy of the invitations you send and receive and the events listed. For example if your time zone is set to Pacific Standard Time (PST) and you’re inviting someone using Eastern Standard Time (EST), an event you schedule for 4 p.m. PST is scheduled at 7 p.m. EST because of the time zone difference.
Working with Web Calendars in iCal You can subscribe to user and group calendars in iCal. When you subscribe to calendars in iCal, the calendar stored in iCal is read-only. You can’t change events in iCal, but when events change on the wiki server, those events are updated in iCal. If you have Mac OS X v10.6 or later installed, you can add your personal calendars as an account in iCal. You can’t add group calendars as an account.
Viewing Wiki Tools on iPhone or iPod touch 8 You can view My Page, wiki pages, blog posts, and upcoming events on iPhone or iPod touch. Wiki tools are streamlined when viewed on iPhone or iPod touch. You can easily find out what’s changed and comment on wiki pages and blog posts. About Using Wiki Tools on iPhone or iPod touch A specialized version of My Page loads when you view wiki tools on iPhone or iPod touch. This version keeps you apprised of the latest content updates.
The Updates pane lists all updated pages, including how many updates or comments were made on a page since you last viewed the page. You can apply the following filters to these pages: Filter Description All Includes all pages. Unread Includes all unread pages. Unread pages have a blue status icon, while read pages have a clear status icon. My Pages Includes all pages that you originally authored that have unread changes. Hot Pages Includes all pages tagged with “hot.
Viewing Group Calendar Events on iPhone or iPod touch When you view events in a group calendar, you see a list of locations, note excerpts, dates, and starting times of upcoming events within the next two weeks with the soonest occurring event listed first. The icon next to the event shows which calendar the event is in, so you can easily differentiate events in different calendars. When you view the details for an event, you’ll also see the full duration of the event and the full event note.
To remove a tag: 1 While viewing a wiki page’s or blog post’s tags, click Delete a Tag. 2 Click Delete next to the tag you want to delete. Adding or Removing Comments on iPhone or iPod touch You can add comments to wiki pages or blog posts. By commenting on a page, you can give feedback on a page without editing the page’s content. The text in your comment isn’t searched when you use the search field.
Part II: Deploying Wiki Tools II See examples of how wiki tools can expedite processes, organize teams, and reduce manual labor.
Streamlining Projects 9 Learn how to streamline projects using wiki tools. Wiki tools can streamline distribution of project information by acting as a hub for different types of project information, such as plans, requirements, meeting minutes, schedules, and prototypes.
Here’s a suggested layout for a project wiki: Overview Meeting minutes Team Related information Plan Prototypes Schedule Requirements A project wiki should have the following pages. Depending on the size of the project, you could combine some of these into a single page (such as the overview, team, and schedule pages). Page Type Tags Description Overview overview, projectname On the wiki homepage, provide a project overview and link to key pages.
Page Type Tags Description Related Information projectname If there are related pages on the wiki or on other wikis, you could create a page of links to them or include a list of links on your overview page. Meeting Minutes minutes, projectname In the blog, post summaries of meetings. By tagging all pages related to the project with “projectname,” when you search across all wikis, you can use the projectname tag to find pages related the project.
If you wanted to find the schedule for ProjectZ and did a plain text search for “ProjectZ schedule,” you’d find all pages that mention ProjectZ and schedule. Using a tag-based search for “ProjectZ” will show you every page related to the ProjectZ project, which you can then filter by using the “schedule” tag. You can easily find the page you’re looking for without looking through a list of pages.
You can solve these problems by giving every critical project information deliverable its own wiki page. As that information changes, the page is updated, not duplicated. When someone updates this page, everyone interested in the page is notified of the change through RSS or on My Page. If you want to look at an old version of the schedule, you can view the page history and see a page version for every time someone updated the page.
Creating High-Level Views People who manage many projects usually maintain a collection of spreadsheets with project lists and schedules, individual project plan documents sent in email, and prototypes or source files hosted on file servers. Providing a high-level or low-level view of a project requires effort in pulling together information from a variety of sources and putting them in an organized, comprehensive package.
In a wiki, instead of copying content, you provide a link to the content. This solves all of the issues listed above: ÂÂ Because a single page contains the information, there are no issues related to syncing content. ÂÂ If the reader is familiar with the page, they don’t need to reread the linked page. ÂÂ Instead of providing detailed information about how to find a document, you can directly link to wiki pages or documents. ÂÂ The reader remains in a web browser and can easily navigate between pages.
Improving Internal Documentation 10 Learn how wiki tools can help organize and distribute internal documentation, while making it easier to update. Internal documentation includes documentation of internal tools or processes that aren’t made public. Because this documentation is internal and not public, it is usually not as well organized or updated as public documentation.
Here’s a suggested layout for an internal documentation wiki: Overview Category Table of contents PDF Single-page documents Content An internal documentation wiki should include the following pages: Page Type Tags Description Overview overview On the wiki’s main page, provide an overview of what people can find in the wiki and link to category pages. Category categoryname If you have a variety of internal documentation, create pages that categorize the documents and link to them.
Page Type Tags Description Table of contents contents, documentname, categoryname If you have a long, multipage internal document in wiki format, it’s useful to have a table of contents page that is linked to from a category page. This page has links to all content pages for the document. Content documentname, categoryname Includes wiki-formatted internal documentation content. This is linked to from the table of contents page.
There are two issues with allowing everyone to edit content: ÂÂ The author might want to be aware of content updates and suggested changes to his or her content. ÂÂ Some documents shouldn’t be edited by anyone but the author, or content updates should go through a review process. Wiki tools solves these issues. To stay aware of pages you’ve written or are interested in, mark those pages with a star.
In a wiki, the actions required by the reader and owner are more streamlined and driven by content changes. In a wiki, when readers find issues, they can fix those issues while they’re viewing the page. If the wiki restricts who can edit the page, the reader can leave a comment and tag the page with “issue.” If the owner marked the page with a star and has a RSS feed of starred pages and pages tagged with “issue,” the owner is notified when someone says there’s an issue with one of their pages.
Communicating More Effectively with Wiki Tools 11 Learn how to use wiki tools to communicate more effectively. Wiki tools provide several new communication methods, which in some situations can be more effective that the communication methods you’re used to. Some organizations use email as their primary communication method and use web communication only for organization-wide static information.
Choosing the Right Method of Communication Web communication methods, such as wikis and blogs, are best for nonurgent group communication, and email is best for urgent or personal communication.
The following is a communication flow that you can use to decide the best communication medium to use for a specific situation: Are you communicating with an established group? Yes No Do you need people to immediately see your message? Yes Are you attaching a large file? Yes Send email to mailing list and attach file to a wiki page No Send email to mailing list Send email No Would it be useful to update or allow others to update your message? Yes Add wiki entry No Add blog entry Problems wit
Email isn’t a good medium for many types of communication. It’s not good for information that: ÂÂ Persists over time ÂÂ Can change ÂÂ Has no immediate urgency Instructions are an example of persistent, nonurgent, dynamic communication. If you send instructions to your department through email, you’ll face several issues: ÂÂ When people join the department, you must find and then forward previous email to them.
There is no confusion about which version of the content is accurate. If people have questions, they can review the page comments to see if their questions have been asked before. Reducing Spam Emails are direct and immediate; email comes to you. Wikis and blogs are nonurgent; you view a wiki or blog when you need to. RSS and My Page notify you of wiki and blog changes, but neither is as urgent and direct as email.
Using Wiki Tools in the Classroom 12 Learn how to implement wiki tools in the classroom. Wiki tools aren’t just for helping organizations and professional teams—they can be used in classrooms. Wikis can help organize student groups, distribute information in a browsable format, and support new types of projects that aren’t easily managed with traditional, paperbased tools.
Here’s a suggested layout for two classroom wikis, one of which is editable by students: Students can’t edit Classroom wiki Syllabus Assignment descriptions Yearbook Notes and references Assignment turn in Group sign up Bios Overview Content Classroom wiki Students can edit 88 Project descriptions Chapter 12 Using Wiki Tools in the Classroom Project wiki
Here’s a suggested layout for a single classroom wiki, which is editable by students: Students can edit Syllabus Yearbook Bios Assignment descriptions Group sign up Classroom wiki Chapter 12 Using Wiki Tools in the Classroom Notes and references Description and overview Content Project wiki 89
Classroom wikis can include the following pages: Page Type Tags Description Syllabus syllabus On the wiki’s homepage, describe the class, including time, location, and requirements. If you have two wikis, put this in the wiki that students can’t edit. Assignment description assignment If the assignment shouldn’t be revealed until it’s assigned, post it as a blog entry. If students can see it at any time, post it as a wiki entry. Students can add comments to ask for clarification.
Page Type Tags Description Notes and references notes If you have lecture notes, presentation slides, or external reference materials, attach these or link to them in wiki pages or blog posts. If you attach media, such as a lecture recording, students can subscribe to these in iTunes. If you have two wikis, put this in the wiki that students can’t edit. Yearbook yearbook If you want students to get to know each other, create a yearbook page and link to individual bio pages for each student.
Preventing Misinformation If you use wikis to distribute and collect assignments, organize teams, and host information created by students about other students, you might think the wiki could become a hotbed for distribution of misinformation. However, wiki tools have several safeguards in place to prevent malicious editing. One of the common misconceptions about using wikis and blogs is that anyone can edit or update information without consequence.
If students need clarification about an assignment, they can post comments on the assignment page, which can then be answered and read by all students. This prevents the teacher from individually answering questions or re-clarifying the assignment for other students. If assignments are secret and not made public until they are assigned, teachers can create blog posts for assignments.
You can review the wiki page and quickly see who’s on the team and what role they play. Later, as students complete their assignments, you can link the assignments from the wiki page so students can easily see what they’ve worked on. Ask students to tag the group projects with their names, so that later you can review everything the student worked on as part of a team.
A access administrator 23 blogs 21 documentation 77 iPhone and iPod touch 65, 66, 67 passwords 18, 19 permissions 23, 28 user 23 wiki 24, 28, 43 accounts, settings 19 administrator 23, 29 archive files 39 attachments 39, 50 audio files 37 B blogs content 32 creating 23, 31 definition 13 deleting 31 podcast enabling 28 settings 18, 21 See also posts, wiki tools C calendars.
list styles 35 login and logout 17 naming conventions web calendars 59 wiki tool content 34 notes 62 podcasting 21, 28 posts, blog comments 42 creating 32 deleting 33 editing 34, 41 iPhone and iPod touch access 66 list styles 35 media files 37, 39 paragraph styles 35 renaming 34 restoring 41 RSS feed 53, 55 source code 40 tables 39 text styles 35 updating 51 watching 52 private wiki 24, 28 privileges, administrator 23 profile image 19 protocols, HTML 40 public wiki 24, 28 O Q
text styles 35 themes 27 Y yearbooks, wiki 92 U updating wiki content 51, 52, 53, 76 users access control 23 web calendars 64 V vacation notice 18, 20 W watching wiki content 52 web calendars colors 59 creating 58 deleting 58 events 60, 61, 62 hiding 59 iCal 64 multiple 58 navigating 57 overview 13, 57 renaming 59 settings 63 showing 59 web communication 82, 83, 84, 85, 86 weblogs.
