Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is a term coined to describe a set of new applications that enable communication and sharing of resources via the web without the intervention of a centralized authority’s approval. Our goal is to launch enterprise-wide instances of these applications. 

Blog and wiki software are available to faculty and staff.  Students will have access to this software in the next rollout.

Blogs, short for Web Logs, are class of web applications that allow people to post materials via the web. This material is typically organized chronologically, and also provides a set of categories that allow people to browse the blog by category. Blogs work in conjuction with RSS, which is a format for publishing blogs via a feed that readers (and other web applications) can subscribe. WordPress multi-user has been installed for use.

Wikis are group-editable web pages. They provide an easy way for people from multiple locations to see and edit a set of documents. While some wiki software have sophisticated access-control systems, some wikis are wide-open, allowing anyone who connects to that wiki to edit pages, and to add new pages. Confluence has been installed for use.

To address the issues related to Web 2.0 an amendment was made to the Computer Usage Policy.

If you have questions about using a blog or wiki please contact one of the following:

Arts and Humanities
Dan Schnaidt - dschnaidt@wesleyan.edu

Languages and Classical Studies
Emmanuel Paris-Bouvret - eparis@wesleyan.edu

Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Jeffrey Goetz - jgoetz@wesleyan.edu

Social Sciences
Kevin Williarty - kwiliarty@wesleyan.edu

Administrative Staff
Pat Leone - pleone@wesleyan.edu

Below are scenarios to help choose the appropriate product.

tool for a class

• first choice would be blackboard blog or wiki
  • set to work with class rosters
  • can set the site to allow class roster to read only, or to be able to add information
  • can add outside users to also read or add information

tool to collaborate with outside colleagues

• data is documentation for a project/research
  • users can edit each other's entries
  • use a wiki
    • confluence - external users will be userid_wikiguest## with a random character string password
    • blackboard - external users will be ??
    • confluence or blackboard wiki can be locked down to a group or open
• data is topics to be commented on
  • users can not edit other user's entries, can only comment on them
  • use a blog
    • wordpress mu - external users will be userid_blogguest## with a random character string password
    • blackboard - external users will be ??
    • wordpress mu - can not be locked down to a group it is always readable by everyone
    • blackboard - can be locked down to a group for viewing

tool for meeting notes

• need a tool to list the meeting notes historically
  • use a blog
  • users can comment on the meeting notes
  • remember this is open for viewing to the public
• need a tool where multiple people can edit the meeting notes
  • use a wiki
  • not a robust tool for comments, but is a tool for sharing the editing

For a detailed grid about the differences of web and web 2.0 applications click here.