Iowa Head and Neck Protocols Managing Your Site: The Wiki

Outline 1.Wikis 2.Your Specialized Wiki 3.The Site: Knowing Where Things Are 4.Troubleshooting

1. The Wiki What are Wikis? Wikis are websites that allow you to edit pages directly in the browser How can Wiki sites be used? Collaboration and Group Work in a Community or in the Classroom! Gather research materials Share findings Comment on each others’ work Quick documentation Meeting Notes Your own personal use

Specific Wiki Functions Edit Wiki pages Create tables Embed a YouTube video Embed Flash Play an MP3 Display am map Post a Power Point presentation Manage a to-do list Create links Display pictures Generate a slideshow Display an RSS feed

Wikis in General –Easy and efficient –Immediate results –Allows for multiple users –Less suitable for complex sites –Links are not interrelated meaning that the link you update will only update that specific link from that page, and not all similar links. Fortunately, there is a workaround for this—called excerpting. This will be explained shortly. Advantages: What’s good about this? Disadvantages:

How a Typical Wiki Works In a typical wiki, viewing and editing of pages by all parties occur in the same part of space.

2. Your Specialized Wiki There are three types of pages and two types of excerpts that are all used in different ways to edit your site. Page Types 1. Information Pages Each information page is unique and therefore When you edit one of these, you edit for all users because all user types that need it will link to this exact page 2. Panel Pages control the areas that are used as menus to the specific protocols by specialty 3. Administrative Pages control the navigation and disclaimer panels seen on every page of the Head and Neck wiki Excerpt Types 1.Root Excerpts pull from root pages and are inserted into the menu pages used by respective specialties 2.Administrative Excerpts pull from the administrative pages and are seen in the navigation panels, disclaimers, authors boxes, and donor disclaimer

Your Specialized Wiki continued… In the Head and Neck Protocols wiki, viewing and editing of pages occur in different parts of the same space. Root Pages

Since many pages have certain identical elements, it is easier to create a template and use that template to automatically update pages in many locations rather than having to update each page manually and individually. This is called excerpting. Thus, when a template is edited, all excerpts using that template automatically update. This saves time and increases accuracy. Since many pages have certain identical elements, it is easier to create a template and use that template to automatically update pages in many locations rather than having to update each page manually and individually. This is called excerpting. Thus, when a template is edited, all excerpts using that template automatically update. This saves time and increases accuracy.

3. The Site: knowing Where Things Are Every page has two types of information that we have discussed. It either has: Administrative panels and Protocol information Or Administrative panels and Menu information Other navigational tools: Top anchors—these are links that take you back to the top of a page Child pages—these are the pages that are organizationally linked to the current page that you are viewing

Recap of Specialized Wiki –Immediate updates –One “template management” spot –Different organization –Need to make sure you are in the right place in order to edit Remember: You will not want to set viewing restrictions on template pages because the excerpts will not be visible to users. Advantages Challenges:

4. Troubleshooting Please see the decision tree attached to the main page of the Head and Neck wiki.