Wikis in Architecture

The social and information networking features of the internet are an area of focus for Andrew Burrow and Jane Burry of the University of Melbourne’s Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory (SIAL).  The researchers explored the use of a wiki of hypertext links for a collaborative project relating to the Familia Sagrada.  One of the study participants was located at the site of the Gaudi-designed structure.  The other participants remained in Australia.  The wiki is used to share information about the project between an interdisciplinary group of participants.  The intent of the ongoing research by SIAL is to define and refine organizational structures for collaborative work enabling work zones that are easy to access and offer necessary security to participants. 

 

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/113390154/abstract

 

The Legitimacy of Information

There is one issue concerning web2.0 that will continually pose concerns particularly within academic settings.  It has to do with the questionable accuracy of content on the web.  Where any user can edit the site content, issues arise about the legitimacy of the information.  As O’Reilly observes Wikipedia, “is a radical experiment in trust…” 

http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/ASeismicShiftinEpistemolo/46613?time=1222384418

This article (above) discusses changes in education introduced by the new web2.0 technologies.  One topic in the article is the questionable accuracy of data defined by users.  A noted in the article, “In the Classical perspective, “knowledge” consists of accurate interrelationships among facts, based on unbiased research that produces compelling evidence about systemic causes.”  The article also poses arguments in defense of web2.0 and its educational potential noting the tremendous advantages that web2.0 instruments can bring to education.