User talk:Daniel K. Schneider

Hope you don't mind but I updated one of your sections to include a newly released variant of TikiWiki called LauLima. I kept the entry short, but we have developed it over the last 3 years. Our project is ongoing, but we use it ourselves in student collaborative projects, and while there are still many ways it can be improved and developed, it has many modifications that have allowed us to use it successfully for student collaborative work, both locally and internationally.

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Hi Daniel, I am curious about the process you used for transforming FrameMaker docs into this Wiki. What tools did you use and did you convert one page at a time or were you able to batch process your FrameMaker document into several wiki pages? I am planning a huge migration of content and I can't find many people who are trying to go from FrameMaker to Wiki. Thanks --Myles Pflum

R: Hmm it's quite manual. there are 2 versions:

• Frame to HTML (edit the reference page as to produce only 1 page per document)

Then I use a HTML2Wiki tool, then I fix problems with emacs :(

• Frame to Word

Then I use a Word2Wiki filter that can be installed in word.

• http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/ManageMediaWiki#HTML_import
• http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/ManageMediaWiki#Word_2_Wiki
• http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/ManageMediaWiki#Importation_into_Wiki

Both methods are about equally bad ;)

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Thanks for the leads, etc.

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the leads about wiki-related activities that you know about. I will have a look at them soon (but maybe after a couple of my courses end on November 8th). This fall, for the first time, I've been creating a student-written "textbook" about educational psychology. (If you're curious, go to [Educational psychology]. The results are variable--there are traditional writing-skill problems, as well as logistical problems about keeping students out of each other's way when writing and editing, yet still responding somehow to each other's work. (e.g. One of the logistical problems: too many students put off writing/editing until the deadline, causing the wiki to balk at receiving many simultaneous changes.)

As you say, it will take a few more run-throughs for me become fully fluent with the wiki medium. And I'm not sure if my students (especially the undergrads) will ever do so, but I want to keep trying with them until I'm sure that we have gone as far as we, and the medium, can go.

KelvinLeeSeifert 00:05, 20 October 2007 (MEST)

Move your content to another wiki?

Hi, I've enjoyed your edtech wiki for a long time, it's probably the best resource on the web about educational technology, the learning sciences, and many other related topics.

I was wondering would you ever consider moving any of the content to a place like Citizendium or Wikipedia? I'm thinking about moving some of my material from my blog and my wikis to Citizendium, for example this page on test-wiseness. Citizendium hasn't decided on a license yet, but Wikipedia is about to switch to a CC license, so maybe either one will be compatible with your cc-by-nc-sa license.

-Doug Holton

I won't

I have lots of reasons for not considering it. Here are a few:

• Editor's policy is very different from wikipedia. Here, people can express opinions, speculate etc. You also can treat a topic in non-compatible ways (e.g. write another article if you can't your ideas to an existing one). I don't believe in "truth". In the learning sciences, a theory is useful or not useful, never true or false. But my main argument is that I need place where I and other people can write unfinished stuff instead of letting it rot away in private places :)

• Citizendium and also places like http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/ focus on quality articles. This wiki is mostly low to medium quality. Main purpose is to create a resource where people can get a (maybe bad or wrong) idea of a concept, explore connection to related pieces, and then go and read a real piece. Related to this: I and 2-3 other teachers sometimes have students contribute. So, readers of this web site are expected to have critical reading skills.

• I am a senior lecturer and such am supposed to write a least conference articles. I decided to take time to work on this wiki with the argument that there is (some) need for scholarship of integration and teaching. So if if someone in our university starts complaining about lack of papers, I can argue that I worked on this wiki :)

• I hate to use LMSs (and other such software) for teaching in small classes that are either fully presential or blended and found it quite practical to integrate learning materials, class syllabus and support forums into the wiki. Couldn't be done in a place like wikipedia or citizendium. It always has been my opinion that one should optimize speed for teacher's activities (else why use technologies ?) and I find wikis a quite good all-in-one solution. E.g. see my introductory Internet course in the french version. http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/fr/STIC:STIC_I

• I have been using Internet for education since the late 1980s and don't trust anyone. Web sites can go away very quickly or be taken over. This wiki will be safe (unless I die and even then it probably will survive). Contents have to last, else as an educator it doesn't make sense to write stuff that can be used in teaching. Web technology changes every 5 years, computing (like OO programming and databases) every 25 years, education (maybe) every 50 years ....

• I don't like to read pieces that are not signed by someone (Wikipedia is anonymous and this is not compatible with my idea of "relative" truth). Also, I have the impression that some people in the future will be more likely to contribute if they can get recognition. To be seen of course (this wiki is less than 2 years old and not very well known. Takes about 2-3 years before a web site is known according to my experience).

• Specialized wikis can offer better navigation. I.e. there are a reasonble amount of categories, the font page is an entry point to whole field. Of course, navigation and categorization can be improved, but most concepts can be found after some search (I hope so at least)

• Lastly, since I have control over this wiki I can enforce everything I want. This doesn't mean that I don't believe in cooperation but I can make sure that invested time fits all my needs (as explained above). Related to this are two extra clauses in the copyright. I reserve the right to use contents for publications. Other copyrights are also allowed. E.g. some articles here are gnu copy-left, some pictures here are copyright with permission. This gives all users some extra flexibility, i.e. if let's say some person wishes to publish a full piece under his own name and very restricted copyrights he/she can do it.

Thanx for your question and I hope my answer is more or less complete, I probably got some extra reasons :)

- Daniel K. Schneider 15:29, 2 December 2007 (MET)