Acknowledgements

"I'm a firm believer that the future belongs to the genius of the collaborative innovator."
Padmasree Warrior - CTO, Motorola (Business 2.0, September 2006)

I couldn't agree more.

The Web is becoming a place for the collaborative construction of information on an incredible scale, and the wiki is at the center of this transformation. Almost anyone you meet has heard of Wikipedia, and people are increasingly seeing how the wiki combines simplicity and power in a radically different, paradigm shifting way. In fact, I might venture to say that the wiki is the most significant development on the Internet since the web browser. Where the web browser enabled people to access online information in a radically different and better way that sparked the widespread growth of the Internet, the wiki enables people to directly and easily edit information in a way that encourages increasing participation and exponentially faster growth of online information. In essence, we are moving from passive readers to active participants.

When change takes place at this pace, there are people who willingly participate, learn as much as they can, and then share it with others. These teachers deserve the highest praise for enthusiastically embracing the new and unknown, transforming and improving the way they teach, and preparing their students to be seasoned pros. Seven such teachers have shared their experiences and advice by writing chapters which form the core of this book, and for that I thank them immensely. They are:

• Victoria Davis - Technology Teacher, Westwood Schools
• Stuart Glogoff - Sr. Consultant, Learning Technologies, University of Arizona Learning Technologies Center
• Jude Higdon - Project Manager, University of Southern California Center for Scholarly Technology
• Peter Higgs - Senior Research Fellow, Creative Digital Industries National Mapping Project, Queensland University of Technology
• Rick Reo - Faculty Support Specialist, Instructional Resource Center, George Mason University
• Paul Schacht - Associate Professor of English & Assistant to the Provost for General Education and Assessment, SUNY Geneseo
• David Wicks - Director, Instructional Technology Services, Seattle Pacific University Center for Scholarshp & Faculty Development

Equally important in the development of the wiki are the people who make the tools. These people have the gift of foresight and the wherewithal to develop ideas into real, useable tools. They also listen, probably better then any other software makers, to the endless flow of suggestions, ideas, and issues from their users, and constantly refine their tools to meet our needs. One such maker is Atlassian Software Systems, an Australian company that develops Confluence, the wiki software powering the site you're using right now.

I had the great fortune of making a connection with Jon Silvers, Atlassian's Director of Online Marketing, and it turned out to be one of the most important milestones in this project. When I told Jon I was putting together a book on the uses of wiki in education, Jon volunteered to put me in touch with teachers using a wiki in their teaching and research, which ultimately resulted in the chapters contributed by Stuart Glogoff, Jude Higdon, and Peter Higgs. When I said I was looking to have development of the book take place on a wiki, Jon arranged for Atlassian to contribute a copy of Confluence, and put me in touch with Guy Fraser at Adaptavist, a specialty Confluence hosting provider in the UK. When I said I wanted to include a foreword that helps give people a big picture sense of where the wiki idea came from and how it impacts education, Jon again lent himself to this project and arranged to have Mike Cannon-Brookes, Atlassian's co-Founder, write the piece. Jon is a selfless, willing, and valuable collaborator and I can truly say that without his involvement this book would not be what it is today.

A special thanks also goes to Guy Fraser of Adaptavist, the specialty Confluence hosting provider and bespoke developer that is generously hosting this book wiki. Besides hosting this site, Guy arranged for Adaptavist to contribute a copy of their Builder plugin so I could customize the site to the exact design you see now.

Finally, special thanks to two people whose willingness to support this project exemplifies the wiki way - Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-Founder of Atlassian, for finding time to write a foreword that reminds us why we root for the wiki as it radically transforms our work for the better, and Jonathan Nolen, Director of Developer Relations at Atlassian, for his keen insight and valuable suggestions for marketing the book.

All of these people represent the best of that genius of the collaborative innovator, and to them I offer a most heartfelt thanks.

Stewart Mader
September 7, 2006