In my last post, I gave quick overviews of PBwiki, Zoho Wiki and Google Sites. This time we’ll look at three others: Wikispaces, Wikidot, and Wetpaint.
Things I like about Wikispaces:
- WYSIWYG editor is a breeze; love the preview function.
- Easy to add widgets.
- Extensive default widget list with video, audio, calendar, spreadsheet, polls, RSS, chat and IM, slideshows, map, bookmark, and custom html plugins.
- Easy to add a logo.
- Easy to invite users with a personalized greeting.
- Built-in user statistics, with an overview and breakouts by members and pages.
- Wikispaces badges, which let you easily place a graphic link to your wiki on any Web site. There’s a live-changes badge too.
- Fairly logical information architecture; easy to find the settings you’re looking for.
What I don’t like:
- Advertisements on right pane of page. You have to pay to get an ad-free version.
- Free versions can’t be private; public wiki can be viewed and edited by anyone, protected can be viewed by anyone but edited only by invited users.
- Private wikis start at $5 per month; custom-permissions functionality starts at $20 per month.
- Limited, cheesy selection of free skins.
- Logo size limited to 150 x 150 pixels.
I really want to like Wikispaces. I think the WYSIWYG editor, selection of widgets, and built-in analytics are great features. I don’t like the limits of the free versions; the permissions settings don’t give you enough control over users and access. Aesthetically, the free Wikispaces are a disappointment; if you prefer to have a customized, professional appearance you’ll probably want to go with a paid version to get more functionality. This isn’t a bad free wiki; but it’s not at the top of my list.
Things I like about Wikidot:
- Mathematic equations on the page—a great feature for educators.
- Bibliography block and citations feature.
- Custom code can be easily displayed on the page.
- Free version has customizable permissions settings.
- Forum and per-page discussion features.
- WYSIWYG editor has a preview function.
- Decent selection of free skins, fairly wide variety.
- Customizable CSS.
- Active support community, extensive catalog of wiki code snippets for page customization.
- Google Analytics.
What I don’t like:
- WYSIWYG editor is kind of kludgy, more an html editor than a Word-type WYSIWYG.
- Not as intuitive as other wikis.
- Plugins hard to find or nonexistent.
- Have to customize CSS to include a logo.
Wikidot is not the most intuitive wiki to use, but its ability to display mathematic equations, programming code (javascript, html, etc) and academic-text formatting like bibliographic information and footnotes makes it a smart choice for educators. It’s a bit short on easy multimedia features (you won’t find a drop-down of easy-peasy plugins, for example), but with its ability to customize look, feel, and access it’s worth a look for tech-savvy users who aren’t easily discouraged or intimidated.
What I like about Wetpaint:
- Easy, intuitive WYSIWYG editor.
- Nice selection of multimedia widgets: video, messaging, maps, slideshows, video mail, etc.
- Multimedia search and embedding is a breeze.
- Add photo feature makes uploading images, searching Yahoo images, or adding a slideshow easy.
- Customizable permissions setting.
- Spellcheck!
- Add An Edit note feature: leave a description of your edits and/or contribution.
- Discussion forum.
- To-do feature.
- Google Analytics or SiteMeter for site statistics.
- Wetpaint Central, a resource-rich online help and support community.
What I don’t like about Wetpaint
- Limited range of free skins.
- Can’t customize page layout.
- $10 – $15 monthly to get an ad-free wiki.
- Feels a little impersonal.
It’s hard not to like Wetpaint. It’s intuitive, with lots of thoughtful features like spellcheck, discussions, and Google Analytics. And it can’t be beat for multimedia ease of use. For example, you can search for and embed a YouTube video directly from the Add YouTube Video dialog box. No need to leave the wiki, go to YouTube, find the video, copy the code, and then return to and embed the code in your wiki. My complaints are few: I’m not crazy about the aesthetics, and I think the ad-free price is a little steep. However, Wetpaint is extremely easy to use, it offers customizable permissions, and its rich multimedia feature set makes it a good bet if you plan to use lots of video or Web 2.0 apps.
Really good review, Dee. I’ve bookmarked it. As an update, about 6-9 months ago, Wetpaint began offering education-oriented wikis an ad-free option. You do have to request it from them and they will disable them. Here’s the link for the info.
Thanks for the tip Michael! Wetpaint is one of my favorite wikis, and it’s great to learn that educators can get theirs ad-free at no cost. Wetpaint doesn’t make this information easy to find: my search for the information without using your link led me through Help>About Wetpaint Sites>Ads>See Ad Free Education Wikis>Learn More. Once there I found the ad-free request form. Your direct link is a big help; thanks for sharing!