Hi Frank, Diane I am a little bit late jumping in on this but wanted to add to the discussion.
> Frank asked: Does anyone have any thoughts on the pros and cons of >wiki vs. > floppy/usb? There was an interesting thread started by Lisa on the "Use of Wireless, wiki and other high-technology for documentation" on Sept 16, 2005. It may not directly highlight the pros and cons that you are looking for but it sounds as though it might be relevant reading. I have used wikis, floppies and usbs but lean towards wikis provided (i) the technical infrastructure is solid ie. internet access is not an issue and I have a printer in the news room and (ii) the majority of the group are comfortable with wikis. Unfortunately, I don't find that this is often the case so I most often end up using one or two usbs. Most of the reasons why I like wikis (the pros) have been shared by others except for one. My organisation (and many of our partners) promotes the use of FOSS (free and open source software) and technologies that nurture communities. The wiki provides both - it is an alternative to using Microsoft Office word to type up the reports and it is a living document in that others can contribute. We do have other options. I know of two - (1) using a rich text file (rtf) format or (2) using alternative open office apps like OpenOffice (OO). These share one of the biggest drawbacks that I see in using wikis - there is a learning curve which, if not addressed, can be a great source of frustration for those unfamiliar with the technology. In addition, most computers have MS Office installed but not OO so the additional steps of downloading (for free), installing and testing OO on the newsroom desktops would be required. Diane wrote... DG> An alternative technology: In another OS, people from across DG> Canada were connected, not via a wiki but via a web site on which DG> reports were posted as is and comments from anywhere about any of DG> the reports or about the OS theme could be given on a separate DG> page that was posted on the News wall. People were also invited DG> to have their own OS in regions and to send in their reports for the News wall. Can you provide more details about this. Did participants enter their reports directly on the website or did they type them up in some kind of word document and then have them posted on the website? If there are other options out there, I would be interested in learning about them. Thanks, Allison At 10:42 AM Tuesday, February 14, 2006, Diane Gibeault wrote: DG> DG> DG> DG> Hi Frank, DG> DG> DG> DG> You asked: Does anyone have any thoughts on the pros and cons of wiki vs. floppy/usb? DG> DG> DG> DG> DG> The nice thing about the wiki is that it becomes like an OS on DG> line, a chat room on each report topic. Participants on site or DG> other members of the organization not present physically DG> can continue interacting electronically after the group DG> discussion and even after the OS. I had participants from Los DG> Angeles and India connected to an Ottawa OS. DG> DG> DG> DG> One draw back I found with wiki was in the naming of reports DG> especially with people used to working with wickies. They just DG> went and did what they normally do without paying any attention DG> to the verbal and written instructions about naming the report. DG> This made it much harder to track which reports where completed DG> so they could be printed for the News wall and the Book. DG> DG> DG> DG> Also, other participants are able to change the report before DG> the News Room prints a copy of the initiator's report that will go DG> in the Book of reports. On the printed version, there is no way DG> to see that someone has changed the original report. This can DG> cause a bit of frustration on the part of the initiator who took DG> responsibility to communicate the group's discussion and can see DG> his or her name attached - without their knowing - to a document DG> that is not reflective of their work. On the screen, one can DG> verify what changes have been made but when reading the reports DG> for convergence, participants read from a hard copy - there isn't DG> a computer screen for each participant. DG> DG> DG> DG> DG> At another OS, reports were entered into the wiki at the end of DG> day only which eliminated the above problem. DG> DG> DG> DG> An alternative technology: In another OS, people from across DG> Canada were connected, not via a wiki but via a web site on which DG> reports were posted as is and comments from anywhere about any of DG> the reports or about the OS theme could be given on a separate DG> page that was posted on the News wall. People were also invited DG> to have their own OS in regions and to send in their reports for the News wall. DG> DG> DG> DG> I am looking forward to hearing more about the experience with wikis DG> DG> DG> DG> Diane DG> DG> Diane Gibeault & Associé.es-Associates DG> DG> www.dianegibeault.com DG> DG> [email protected] Ottawa Canada (613) 744-2638 DG> DG> Facilitation and Training in Support of Transformation DG> Facilitation et formation en appui à la transformation DG> DG> DG> -----Original Message----- DG> From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Frank Deitle DG> Sent: February 13, 2006 10:45 PM DG> To: [email protected] DG> Subject: Re: USB-sticks and computer station during OST + some more.. DG> DG> Hi everyone, DG> DG> I recently attended the RecentChangesCamp Open Space in Portland. DG> It was facilitated by Michael Herman and we used an online wiki DG> to compile the book of procedings (there were a lot of wiki DG> folks at the conference). This was the first Open Space I've DG> been to where we've even used the banks of computers so I have DG> nothing to contrast the experience to. Does anyone have any DG> thoughts on the pros and cons of wiki vs. floppy/usb? DG> DG> Peace, DG> DG> Frank Deitle DG> * * ========================================================== DG> [email protected] ------------------------------ To DG> subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives DG> of [email protected]: DG> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about DG> OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: DG> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist DG> * * ========================================================== DG> [email protected] ------------------------------ To DG> subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of DG> [email protected]: DG> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn DG> about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: DG> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist --- Allison Hewlitt Bellanet International Secretariat <www.bellanet.org> Tel: +1 613.236.6163 x2393 * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
