Wikis

What is a wiki?
A wiki is a collection of shared webpages that can be edited by anyone in the community, which could be a group of students or the whole world (as is the case of Wikipedia).

What can they be used for?
Wikis are great for collaborative projects or resources and are increasingly being used in education.

How do I use a wiki?
Every page in a wiki can be edited. You simply enter the edit mode (generally accessed by clicking on a link or button) and edit the page you were currently viewing. Special syntax to format your text or to add links to other pages or websites.

As wikis can be edited by anyone, the pages are open to attack by users wishing to vandalise the pages. Wikipedia have some guidelines for preventing vandalism.

How can I set up my own wiki?

UCL students have access to the UCl Wiki. You can create personal wiki pages, by logging in to the wiki and clicking on your name, in the top-right hand corner of the page.

There are several options available if you want to setup your own wiki, instead of using the UCL Wiki. If you want to try out a wiki then there are a number of free wiki hosts that allow you to set up both public and private wikis. You can also download and install open source wiki software if you want to host your own wiki.