Question

500 word reflection on the process of developing a wiki page in conjunction with my experiences during this course and reference to wikis and HTML. Personal thoughts about the advantages and disadvantages of wikis and Htmls

Answer 1

Advantages of wiki's:

• anyone can edit
• easy to use and learn
• Wikis are instantaneous so there is no need to wait for a publisher to create a new edition or update information
• people located in different parts of the world can work on the same document
• the wiki software keeps track of every edit made and it's a simple process to revert back to a previous version of an article.
• the wiki has no predetermined structure - consequently it is a flexible tool which can be used for a wide range of applications
• there are a wide range of open source software wiki's to choose from so licensing costs shouldn't be a barrier to installing an institutional wiki

Disadvantages:

• Anyone can edit so this may be too open for some applications, for example confidential documentation. However it is possible to regulate user access.
• Open to SPAM and Vandalism if not managed properly.
• Requires Internet connectivity to collaborate, but technologies to produce print versions of articles are improving
• The flexibility of a wiki's structure can mean that information becomes disorganised. As a wiki grows, the community plans and administers the structure collaboratively.

Advantages of HTML:

compatibility and difficulty of use. All Web browsers can read HTML files and webpages, but the language can be difficult to decipher.

HTML is easy enough to write and code by who knows well about html, but errors can be costly.

It allows templates which makes a designing web page.

Disadvantages:

the time it takes to choose the color scheme of a page and to create lists, tables and forms.