~~NOTOC~~ ~~SLIDESHOW~~ ====== Wikis For Better Collaboration and Learning ====== VILSC 2018 \\ Scott Leslie \\ BC Libraries Cooperative \\ ===== INTRO ===== * Who are you? * Do you currently wiki? If not - why not? * Who am I? ===== Some things about the Coop ===== * We're not a library. * We have a lot of tech-savvy people on staff. * We do open source as exclusively as possible * We are super cost-aware, don't like to spend when we don't have to \\ wiki.libraries.coop ===== Why Wiki? ===== * Easy collaborative document editing and creation but... * Works [[https://wiki.libraries.coop/doku.php?id=cooperative:users:sleslie:start|just as well for the individual]] * "[[https://www.slideshare.net/mcannonbrookes/organisational-wiki-adoption/10-Simple_contextual_content_More_archival|More archival than email, less process that Word]]" * Easy search and browse * Improve transparency and help reduce silos * Anticipate knowledge growth even before it happens * For changeable info, likely the best approach (cf https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e138/f96aedcb18893a87bd22d95d3914db4d22ae.pdf) ===== Why DOKUWIKI? ===== * Open source, mature, lots of plugins - https://www.dokuwiki.org/plugins * Document based, not database * Git backed, which means key staff can have an offline version of the wiki on their laptops * Ability to move pages and namespaces (means you don't have to get it perfect the first time) ===== Why DOKUWIKI? Part II ===== * Access control - can control both visibility and edit-ablity; can include public sections (such as this page!) * Re-skinning; the nav bars are actually wiki pages! https://wiki.libraries.coop/doku.php?id=sidebar * Easily embed other content * [[https://wiki.libraries.coop/doku.php?id=cooperative:coop_calendars|calendars]] * [[https://wiki.libraries.coop/doku.php?id=cooperative:users:sleslie:start|list of google docs in a folder]] * Can host structured data and offer alternative ways to use it? https://www.dokuwiki.org/plugin:data:list_of_employees ===== How we made it work ===== * If you already have one, with even a few people using it - don't kill it, build on it! * Redesign can help + "a bit" of info architecture * Wiki Gardening! together and separately * Focus on "collaboration" not "publishing", folksonomy (+search) not taxonomy * If a good exchange has happened elsewhere (IRC, email) suggest a wiki entry as a result * Keep it as open as possible - we have public/private distinction, but after that try not to create too many internal groups ===== Is wiki always the way? NO ===== * Very small groups/locations - a binder may make a ton more sense * Non-volatile information - may not be the best way to handle official policy docs you don't want edited ===== Thanks! Questions? ===== * slides at http://bit.ly/vislc2018-wikis * scott.leslie@bc.libraries.coop / @sleslie on twitter