Ok, now I have a rudimentary Wiki running, I would like to see a well designed and cultured one but don't know where to find one.
Please tell me where to go...
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In reply to Steve Ambro v3.8
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Colin Fraser -
Well, Steve... rather than tell you where to go,... why not just use MediaWiki? An SSO is supposed to be available so why not? I have used it, for the same things you want, but never got the SSO going, which was just annoying. Someone else, with better coding skills than me, or a more cooperative network management team, could surely get it going.
In reply to Colin Fraser
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Steve Ambro v3.8 -
Does MediaWiki sync in with Moodle?
In reply to Steve Ambro v3.8
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Colin Fraser -
They are not both LTI compliant. Moodle is, and I believe that the nature of the MediaWiki it is not. Apparently the different structures used in a Wiki for the encyclopedic and dictionary types of Wiki pages do not allow for the development of a common API that can be used for LTI. I have no idea what that means, but it sounds intelligent.. There has been some work, but...
So a single sign on is likely best option....
Have you had a search through the courses available on https://moodle.net ?
Or there is this one on the Moodle Demo server: https://school.demo.moodle.net/mod/wiki/view.php?id=786
Jon
Before I give up on the idea of having a class-edited document, maybe some points might be clarified.
.)1 The Wiki is the only resource available for community editing.
.2) There is no built in grading for a Wiki as there is in a forum.
.3) How does one find out who edited/entered what?
.4) There appears to be nothing attractive in a Wiki unless the students are HTML savvy.
Fortunately I will be teaching a course in web design and will let the students fancify it.
The task to add to my home page is to have the students build a document that explains Twitter: How to sign up, how to post, @ and # tags, life/scope of a tweet, adding pictures, Follow/Unfollow, Deleting tweets, etc.
In reply to Steve Ambro v3.8
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by AL Rachels -
.3) How does one find out who edited/entered what?
When looking at the wiki page via the View tab, click on the History tab and you can then see who did a modification to the page, and when they did it. If you click on the version number, you can see what the page looked like for that edit.
.4) There appears to be nothing attractive in a Wiki unless the students are HTML savvy.
This is where having a bunch of Generico filters or Snippets can really help speed things along. I especially like Snippet templates for various things you might normally see placed on a web page, such as table layouts.
In reply to Steve Ambro v3.8
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Colin Fraser -
Moodle does some things well, but other things not so well. The idea of collaborative writing and editing is not new but it is not done well in Moodle. Look outside Moodle. My wife has been using Google Docs for these kinds of exercises for years now. A link inside her Moodle to a Google Doc she sets up. Middle School Maths is a little difficult to do this, so I've never done it, but it works for her. I have used WikiMedia for collaborative exercises in Science and that's the closest I have go to it. If the Devs ever get around to getting it right, I expect she will use Moodle for that too.
PS. as Moodle Docs uses MediaWiki, you'd think it would be a closer relationship after nearly 20 years, but....
In reply to Colin Fraser
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Steve Ambro v3.8 -
"If the Devs ever get around to getting it right," is a bit harsh, no? I do see good development happening. With a volunteer force, it gets done at a different rate than paid staff. After all, after 10 years, I finally placed an edit for my first note in MoodleDocks and look forward to seeing it get accepted.
Also, I may have missed the discussion but I have not seen any conversation about making changes in the wiki resource. During this next semester, I may develop a list to see what might fly. Unfortunately, I know noting about coding ((php?) enough to recommend any suggestions.
It was good to see activity happen on the suggestion that the date icon be installed for restricted access section. ( :
Not so good to read that there are code conflicts that prevent it. ) :
I will keep watching.
In reply to Steve Ambro v3.8
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Colin Fraser -
Yes, Steve, it is a bit harsh, but I have been asking for this since I first started using Moodle. Collaborate writing was one of the first things I saw as needing much better development and something I have asked about at every MoodleMoot I have been to. I recall making some discussion with Martin the first time I met him mmm 2008-9, with Mary Cooch when she was here for the 2012(?) Moot, certainly Koern Roggermanns as well at the same Moot... I may have put something into Moodle Tracker, but for v1.8 then v1.9 then I hoped that it would be part of v2.0.. but still, not seen yet. I have never been a really patient person and so every opportunity.....
In reply to Colin Fraser
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Hi Colin
Can you show an example of the ideal collaborative editor? See also https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=372472&parent=1503947.
Can you show an example of the ideal collaborative editor? See also https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=372472&parent=1503947.
In reply to Visvanath Ratnaweera
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Colin Fraser -
Hi Visvanath, an ideal Moodle/wiki mix? No, I haven't found one. An external tool, MediaWiki, using the LTI is the closest I expect, but, not used LTI as there has always been something that has held me back, some element of distrust as to its workability perhaps, just not sure of it. What I have done is as how I have described it elsewhere, having a Moodle and MediaWiki, sometimes even with a SSO,depending on the IT techs. For some of them, it is just a step too far, after all, they have given me a wiki, and why am I not satisfied with, and grateful for, that?
In reply to Colin Fraser
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Colin, you misunderstood. The question is what is your authoring tool of choice? Explain why, and, If it is not well-known in the forum, add a screen-shot or two.
In reply to Visvanath Ratnaweera
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Colin Fraser -
Just MediaWiki, nothing else. I have looked at others but for ease of use and familiarity, MediaWiki is the tool of choice. Students are most familiar with Wikipedia, and the default package looks the same so kids pick up on it quickly. What I have found is they are usually surprised at how easy it is to use it.
I generally set their tasks up as here is a topic, research it, write an article in their MediaWiki. That's all, just write it. The next part is here's another topic, research it, look for the existing page and if you think something needs be said differently, edit it. The wiki then builds into an ongoing development tool that is available for the semester or the year, depending on duration of that class. Useful for revision as well.
The hardest part has always been to get the IT Guys to let me set it up, takes a couple of weeks before I get through the school bureaucracy to get permissions, and I am not always successful. Then I work on getting an SSO set up working, where I can. Too many people in positions of authority don't quite get what it is I am trying to do. Oh they nod sagely, in all the right places, but they are always dubious either about the idea of collaborative writing or if I can get it to work, one of the two.
In reply to Colin Fraser
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
That simple! I have maintained some pages on MediWiki and found it very boring. One is exactly a plus for you: Everything resembles Wikipedia. But I see it now, we are talking of two different things. You are talking about students documenting some learning outcome. I am talking about teaching material.
Your story about school IT sounds terrible. Is it that much complicated because you want an external wiki. Why not the MediaWiki plug-in for Moodle?
Your story about school IT sounds terrible. Is it that much complicated because you want an external wiki. Why not the MediaWiki plug-in for Moodle?
In reply to Visvanath Ratnaweera
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Colin Fraser -
Nah.. I don't use wikis for anything other than learning outcomes. I did think about it, once, but for me, why reinvent the wheel? Why transfer a textbook to a wiki? There are plenty of sources for students to find and use, why add to that? It's not about resourcing students for me, it's about getting students to find things for themselves, research, learn something, understanding, apply some thinking skills, critical literacy, write about their topic, application, review another student's topic, analysis, and express their learning in a formal manner. Other assignments don't use a wiki, but they get the opportunity to display their creativity as an end product. This is, for me, trying to get as far into Bloom's Taxonomy as I can and keep things interesting and as mixed as I can.
Also, I don't have access to the code base of the schools Moodles, that is handled via the public education Department, not the school. I requested the progress bar four years ago and was told, "We'll check its code, make sure it works." Polite way of saying "Go away, son, don't bother me." Basically, if it's not core, forget it. That's ok, to a point, but getting anything as esoteric as a MediaWiki plugin is just not going to happen - which is why I have to work it at a school level.
In reply to Colin Fraser
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Steve Ambro v3.8 -
I did think about it, once, but for me, why reinvent the wheel?
If we did not reinvent the wheel then we would not have spirals, gears, cogs, ramps, pulleys, and Spaghettios.
I don't use wikis for anything other than learning outcomes.
I am not sure what you are saying there but I still fantasize about a gradable wiki and let the students develop the topic. This next term, I am going to wing it and leave it all free-range and let the students twerk it all they want. It should be interesting to see what they do.
In reply to Steve Ambro v3.8
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
@Colin
You wrote:
> Why transfer a textbook to a wiki?
The more general question is, why present the course content in a screen format (HTML, etc.) as opposed to paper format (PDF) or even real paper. (Nice to meet you again https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=370016#p1492299 ;)
> I don't have access to the code base of the schools Moodles, that is handled via the public education Department, not the school.
For an experienced Moodler like you it must be killing motivation. Try to take it easy, our virtual products don't have a long life span to worry about.
@Steve
> I still fantasize about a gradable wiki and let the students develop the topic.
There was a whole generation of teachers who used wiki as the sole teaching tool. You need to find somebody in your vicinity.
You wrote:
> Why transfer a textbook to a wiki?
The more general question is, why present the course content in a screen format (HTML, etc.) as opposed to paper format (PDF) or even real paper. (Nice to meet you again https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=370016#p1492299 ;)
> I don't have access to the code base of the schools Moodles, that is handled via the public education Department, not the school.
For an experienced Moodler like you it must be killing motivation. Try to take it easy, our virtual products don't have a long life span to worry about.
@Steve
> I still fantasize about a gradable wiki and let the students develop the topic.
There was a whole generation of teachers who used wiki as the sole teaching tool. You need to find somebody in your vicinity.
In reply to Steve Ambro v3.8
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Colin Fraser -
I have been thinking about my senior students doing exactly that, Steve. Here's a topic, you develop a question, research it, write it up on a wiki. When the due date occurs, the write up task is completed. Each student is given two pages to look at, then edit. Each student is given three pages to grade. An average of grades is given as the final result. In the mean time, maybe I can fit in some small group work between the final edit and assessment, where the student instructs each member of their group in what their question was. Peer instruction.... mmmmmm and the ideas keep coming.
In reply to Steve Ambro v3.8
Re: Wiki Wondering: Where can I find one alive and well
by Olumuyiwa Taiwo -
Steve,
I wrote a very rudimentary plugin to integrate Moodle with Onlyoffice Document Server, to enable collaborative editing of documents within a Moodle course.
The plugin can be downloaded from https://github.com/logicexpertise/moodle-mod_onlyoffice
You'll need to install an instance of Onlyoffice Document Server in order to use the plugin, a task that's not much more difficult than installing a stand-alone Wiki.
if you want a test Document Server instance, PM me for the URL and access token for one that you can use for a short period.