Ip,+Mike

=__Analysis and Reflection on the Wiki Project__=

My work on the Wiki came in two stages and I regret that I had to work on it like this because I was really looking forward to this project. I worked with Wikis before in a class taugh by Professor Vinall-Cox and I hoped to contibute more to this porject.

Brief Summary of Wiki Contributions:
At the beginning of the wiki project I started a few things to help the function and design of the wiki. I started the navigation bar on the left side of the screen to help users move about the wiki. I'm happy to see people have taken steps to enhance it's usability by categorizing areas on the Wiki.

I transformed the Assignment page to have a FAQs sections. I inserted a table with sections for Questions and Answers so my peers can help each other out when facing problems. With over 20 questions and responses I feel the Wiki page did it's job to help students with this project.

As an avid user of wireless internet I have searched ways to speed up my internet connection and download time. With my research I came across a new technology that should come out to the consumer market shortly. As a result I shared my findings with my class on the Wireless 802.11n Wikipage.

I have tried to also contribute to other people's work to make it more informative. Specifically, I've added external links to sites people speak about in their Wikipages. On the Google page, I added links to the Google applications including but not only "Google Maps" and "Google Scholar". I also add links to our respective school community Blogs on the Student Blog section of our Wiki.

Additionally I've tried to maintain the Wiki by cleaning things up like spelling and needless spaces. I feel this will help improve the overall feel on the Wiki. As a Porfessional Writing major I feel I should use my strengths to help edit basic things like grammar and spelling even though I know it's not overly important on a Wiki.

Reflections and Observations of the Wiki Experience:
This has been my second in-class experience with maintaining a Wikispace. This time seemed to work a lot better than the first time. I think the class took some time to get rolling with this but once things got rolling it seemed like a rollarcoaster. I had to take about two weeks away from the project but when I came back I found myself overwhelmed with the amount of information that had been posted since I last browsed.

I really enjoy the working with a community on a Wiki. A lot of the times when I work on the internet--especially on school assignments--I find the Internet to be dull and boring. Essentially this mass communication device that I use to search articles and academic journals seems dead. Sure the information is there and was put there by someone but there is no interactivity and no community building. Our Wiki generated a sense of community and interactivity I hadn't really experienced on the Internet before.

Wiki Suggestions for Future CCIT Students:
The most important suggestion I can make to future students using Wikis: //don't be afraid to get dirty//. This whole Wiki thing is like a giant pot luck dinner. Everyone is coming with something of their own to make the overall experience more enjoyable. There will be a plethora of dishes(pages) for you to try and if you don't like it, feel free to spice it up a bit (edits). In the end, by the time everyone has come with their offereings--and usually made hours before the dinner is to take place--we will have a giant feast (of information) to choose from. Nobody will going to criticize your work because there will be pleanty of other dishes to try...unless of course you make the exact same thing someone else did (plagiarize). So yea, that's my suggestion for future students using Wikis.