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UPDATES!

April 28

The mp3 player is enabled: the code is:

<flashmp3>File Name.mp3</flashmp3>.  

You must use an mp3 file. Just click "play" to see how it works:


For more info and for more formatting options, go to the Flash Extension page in MediaWiki.

April 26

Citing your sources in MLA format:

  • For internet sources, please see this page: [1]
  • For All other sources (newspaper articles, book chapters, books, scholarly articles), please see this page: [2]. (This site has web sources as well.)

April 25

YouTube embedding is now active. The syntax is:

<youtube v="aYouTubeId" />

and you can see an example on John's Page. The source page is in MediaWikiin case you're curious.

April 24

All content from the Main Page has been moved to this page.

April 20

USING GOOGLE MAPS IN MEDIAWIKI

Google Maps are now active:

  • The extension is now installed. In your wiki, go to any page and select “edit.” You will see a command under the formatting icons to make a map. At this point, all you have to do is enter an address and click search, and the wiki mark-up code will be generated automatically: copy and paste it into the body of the editing section and your map is ready to go. (The “load map” command that you will see seems to be erroneous.) The simple code will look like:
     <googlemap lat="40.632014" lon="-73.952695" zoom="19">
      </googlemap>
     (These are the coordinates for Brooklyn College:  I searched on "2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn...")
  • To add the icon that specifies the address, add on the second line the latitude and longitude codes separated by a comma, followed by the label of the coordinate:
     40.631874, -73.952694, Brooklyn College, 2900 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY  
     (The “Brooklyn College...” text shows up when you click the balloon in the map)
  • Your whole code will look like this:
       <googlemap lat="40.632014" lon="-73.952695" zoom="19">
       40.631874, -73.952694, Brooklyn College, 2900 Bedford Ave, New York, NY
       </googlemap>
  • Alternatively, all you need to do is click on the point where you wish to add a marker, and enter the text into the balloon. Again, the code is automatically generated.
  • You can adjust the default zoom, as well as other elements when the map code is generated. For example, above the zoom is 19, which is pretty much street level; if I were to specify that as 12, it would show the greater Brooklyn area.
  • If you want to add multiple points to the map, simply click on the desired location and enter a label in the balloon. The code for the new point will automatically be created. Be sure to add the new code into the editing section of the wiki.
  • At any point, if you with to edit your map, simply click on the make a map when you are in the page's editing mode.

See a couple of examples on John's Bio Page or on the Googlemaptest page.

Have a great (gorgeous) weekend!

April 15

Hello, All. I was fiddling with the system settings with the Hell's Kitchen Group last night, and accidentally shut off the thumbnail/gallery function. It is back on now.

New Skins: Please be sure to check out the two new skins I have uploaded to our wiki. One is called gumax and another is called _ycgu_max_. Both of these are infinitely more attractive than what the mediawiki defaults are, and we can play around with them to personalize our site. We still need a banner or a logo concept to design and exectute.

Globaloria

Thanks - John

Welcome to The Peopling of New York City - Brooklyn College ( Prof. Napoli)

What is a Wiki?

  • wiki – (def.) Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly. Wikipedia is probably the best known wiki, and is powered by MediaWiki, the same software that powers our wiki.
  • A wiki is unique among group communication mechanisms in that it allows all users to create and edit its content.
  • Wiki wiki means “rapidly” in Hawaiian

Advantages of a Wiki over a Traditional html Page

A wiki is a dynamic website that allows multiple users to edit it at the same time from different computers and different locations. This is not generally possible with a static website. A wiki is an ideal environment for collaboration on large projects, since users can edit and comment on each other's content, and users are able to see who contributed what.

The Seminar 2 Website Project was traditionally done in Dreamweaver, and although it is still an excellent software for creating websites, it was nearly impossible for 20 or more students to collaborate on the end product. Most of the work therefore fell on one or two students. iWeb was another software considered for this project, but it offered even fewer capabilities for collaboration. Some of the MHC students will be creating static html websites, but many more tech fellows and professors have opted for the wiki.

The greatest advantage, however, is that it is on the most cutting edge of softwares used in classrooms today. Columbia University has been using wikis creatively and meaningfully through their Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CNMTL).

A Disadvantage of a Wiki

A wiki is not "wysiwyg" ("what you see is what you get," another term for on-screen formatting) so you will need to learn some of the basic formatting for text, such as creating headings and bullets, and formatting links. However, you get used to these commands quickly, and you can find help by following the links on the help page. Under Getting Started (below) you will also find a link for tips on formatting. You can always click on "show preview" to see if you have the desired formatting was achieved.

Getting Started

Below are some helpful links to orient you to MediaWiki

What's Next?

The next step (after you create your login) will be to create your own page. The purpose of the page will be to create a bio, which will be finalized during the tech fair. Your bio is needed by the Central Office, so we are killing two birds with one stone, here. You can show your personality, but please remember to be "professional" - this is not a MySpace page. You can add pictures, tables, and change formatting on your page (see the Help page if you need assistance). See John's bio page as an example, and view the source content to get ideas on how to create a layout.

Writing Your Bio

Your professional biography, about one paragraph, needs to be posted to the Intranet Facebook by the beginning of April. See the Bio Writing Workshop page for more info regarding purpose and style.

This help page will give you some tips on getting started

Creating an Audio File for your Oral History Project This file provides a comprehensive workshop for using Garageband to create your oral history recording. This is the handout used at the Tech Fair on 3/14. Garageband Workshop

How do I create an account?
Everyone needs to set this up, as pages will be "protected" from non-registered users.
Click on Log In in the side bar and select create account.
Make sure you confirm your account with your email.
This feature will be turned off soon to prevent unauthorized users from creating accounts.
My Preferences
Get familiar with this feature by selecting it from the sidebar. Most selections will only be active on your page (the site preferences are controlled by the administrator).
My Page
Write a bio & upload a picture (final bios will be due March 14)
Uploading a photo to the wiki:
In the sidebar, under toolbox, click "Upload file"
Next to the Source filename, click Browse to locate the file on your computer.
Change the Destination filename to something descriptive, if necessary.
Fill in the Summary, if necessary.
Click the Upload file button.
To use an image or other file which has been uploaded to the wiki, use:
   		[[Image:Example.jpg]]
If you add a pipe (|) and some text after the filename, the text will be used as alternative text for text-only browsers:
               [[Image:Example.jpg|alternative text]]
If you don't want to display the image, you can link to the file's description page, by adding a colon:
   		[[:Image:Example.jpg]]
To bypass the description page and link directly to a file, use the "Media" pseudo-namespace:
   		[[Media:Example.jpg]]
You can also make piped links if you want some other text to be used:
   		[[:Image:Example.jpg|link text]]
   		[[Media:Example.jpg|link text]]
More information on formatting images can be found here:Image Help


My Talk page
This feature resembles the functionality of a blog
Your fellow students can post general questions/comments here
How do I create a page? 
The simplest way to create a new page is to type the name of the page in the Find bar (left hand side of page) and then hit "Go". It will tell you that no such page exists and do you want to create it. Click yes, then type your page content! It's that easy. Of course, you or someone else can edit it later as needed. If you know the page already exists, but it says it doesn't, then check your spelling and formatting. For example, this page is titled "Help" but the url is "Help:Contents".
How do I edit a page?
Use edit button which can be found in several places
It is a good idea to preview your changes before you save; but don't forget to save!
How do I find pages?
The difference between "go" and "search" :
Using the "go" button will take you directly to the term that you searched, provided that you have entered the exact text of an article that exists.
The "search" button does a search of the site to match your search terms with keywords from each article.
Can I see some cool examples of non-boring wikis?
Columbia University [3]
A Wikimedia example [4]
The Great Lakes Wiki [5]
Oh yes. Star Trek, baby. [6] (Star Trek for the win!)
A Consumer Wiki [7]


Below are some links to help you with the "how to's" of the WikiMedia.

Configuration Settings

FAQ

Users Guide

Help Contents

Formatting Codes - Very Helpful!

Formatting Images

Formatting Links

Formatting Tables

Creating and Editing Categories

Editing the Navigation Bar (you need admin access to do this in this Wiki)