The document outlines the usage and features of Wikipedia as a free online encyclopedia that leverages Web 2.0 tools to allow user contributions and edits. It highlights the multimedia elements of Wikipedia, including text, graphics, audio, and video, which enhance the educational experience and interactivity of the platform. Additionally, it emphasizes the community aspect of Wikipedia, including discussions and contributions, alongside the challenges of reliability and vandalism inherent in an open editing model.

1. Alice McCullagh – 3A AIT - SIDE IDEA wk 1: Create a slideshow (with annotations) of some interactive multimedia products you own and use. Embed your work as a .ppt file below and save a copy of your work to your E Portfolio Activity Page IDEA wk 2: Your task is to use a Web 2.0 tool (like Slideshare ) to publish a 'how to' Powerpoint Slideshow for a Web 2.0 tool of your choice This slideshow is a combination of these two activities

2. Text Wikipedia’s use of text Graphics How images illustrate and inform About Wikipedia, the free encylopedia Audio & Video Pronunciation and explanations Hyperlinks How wikipedia is linked together Contributions the participation of users You How you can use wikipedia Community Social interaction and communication Me My usage of Wikipedia Discussion Social interaction and communication Information about this resource and technology How you can use and contribute.

3. Wikipedia Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created by the contributions of millions of users. This, coupled with its status as the largest encyclopedia in existence, makes it something of a flagship of the Web 2.0 trend. It uses many different kinds of media to inform its users about the subjects of its articles. It is the best known example of ‘wiki’ technology, which enables several (or millions, in the case of wikipedia) to edit one website. Its interactive element (the ability of users to contribute, and also control their path through the information via hyperlinks) as well as its use of text, images, audio and video to transfer information is what makes wikipedia a form of hypermedia. The free encyclopedia

4. Hyperlinks Wikipedia is extensively linked via hyperlinks. Explanations will often lead to new pages, exploring a mentioned topic in more detail. This adds an interactive element to the website, with users being able to chose their own path, based on what information they want to discover. This is an example of hypertext. The many different media used on Wikipedia, however, transform it from an example of hypertext to hypermedia .

5. Text Wikipedia’s main resource for imparting information is text, in an HTML markup. This makes the website accessible for many people around the world, as it is a low-file size method of transferring information, unlike, for example, a Flash-based website with a lot of video content, which would be inaccessible to many because of its large file size and commercial file type basis.

6. Graphics Often, Wikipedia will use graphics to illustrate a topic when simple words are not enough. Wikipedia strives hard to ensure that all images are in the public domain, licensed under a copy left platform, or can be classed under ‘fair use’. Input of images comes from two main groups: user input (photographs users have themselves taken) or copies of public domain or appropriately licensed work from government agencies or museums (eg: the Library of Congress). Wikipedia uses animations, often to explain mechanical devices or diagrams. Images uploaded from a variety of sources help illustrate articles Recently, the German Federal Archives made a massive donation of 100,000 images to wikipedia. Wikipedia is extremely popular in Germany, with 863, 000+ articles

7. Audio and Video Audio is often some kind of historical document released into the public domain. It records some kind of important even (see left). Audio recordings can also be created of wikipedia articles, and to illustrate proper pronunciation of a person’s name. Video is used less commonly, to illustrate a subject when pictures and audio are insufficient. Video may also be of events of historical significance. The video on the right is of a Tran gastric mid papillary view of heart. Videos are much larger (in file size) than text, images, animations or sound, so the encyclopedia tries to avoid their use This file documents the first know audio record of the human voice.

8. Using Wikipedia Basic Article Edits Click the ‘edit this page’ link Select and manipulate the text you want to correct or add to When you have completed your edit, click ‘Save Page’ 1) 2) 3) Editing a page in wikipedia couldn’t be simpler. You can edit pages without even being a member, but, by registering, you gain several privileges, such as a hidden IP Address.

9. My usage I use wikipedia nearly every day. I find it extremely useful for casual exploration of subjects that interest me, and as a good starting point for school projects, before moving on to more reputable sources (one of the failing of wikipedia is its unreliability). It is extremely useful for research into obscure subjects, where a more traditional sources may fall short. While its inaccuracy often makes it unsuitable as a references source, it has been an invaluable resource for me when researching. While many deride Wikipedia for this reason, there are many situations where I would not use ANY encyclopedia as resource (such as in History, where I would rely on primary, rather than secondary or even tertiary sources, as encyclopedias are often considered), and using (as well as contributing to it) has taught me a lot about crediting and finding reliable sources. My use has also taught me a lot about copyright and how it applies to images and other media on the internet.

10. Contributions This is also a major failing, as its open nature can lead to inaccuracy and vandalism. Many public criticisms of wikipedia relate to this issue. The main ‘selling point’ of Wikipedia is that users can contribute to it, by creating or editing pages or uploading other content (photographs, audio clips, diagrams etc). While all wikipedia articles can be edited, some particularly controversial topics may be ‘protected’ to help stop vandalism

11. Community The wikipedia community has several related websites which assist with the creation and manipulation of articles. The important three are Wikimedia Commons (A directory of media, such as images or sound, which can be used to create or improve articles), the Meta-Wiki (for discussion of wiki-related affairs) and wikipedia, which holds all articles. It is in some of these sub communities where WikiMedia takes on the form similar to that of a social network, where individuals are linked together by their discussion of related subjects. Discussions may not even be related to the encyclopedia or related projects, but be purely social in nature.

12. Discussion All Wikipedia pages have an associated talk page, where users can discuss changes or controversies. Whenever you make a major or controversial edit, it is polite to comment with your reason on the discussion page. It is also advisable to read the discussion page before making a major edit: the subject of your changes may already be a topic of hot debate, so it good to form to make sure that your edit isn’t merely the last in a series of contradictory edits. When simply reading Wikipedia, the discussion page itself can be a useful source of information. It can reveal bias, or controversies about the information included.