This page is my facilitated page for FET8611 and it is serves two purposes:
The primary purpose is to explore and discuss ways to use an editable wiki page to present assistance using tables, bullets, hidden text, different pages and any other ideas in a work environment,
To provide actual tips, wiki tag examples, links to help in knowledgeGarden and other programs such as MS Office and other topics users want to add.
Providing support and solving problems is a life long passion for some people and I am one of them! Feel free to use this page as an area to share knowledge with others in the form of:
tips
tricks
ideas
add problems you are having
solve problems people request
discussing which way you consider best to display information in:
tables, bullets, hidden comments or separate pages.
1.2 Contributions to the Page
Feel free to edit this page in the indicated areas or add comments at the bottom of the page by clicking on the Comments button to make it more useful to others.
1.3 Summary
Being realistic, this page may not appeal to all knowledgeGarden users and therefore they will not contribute to this page. Feedback how ever will be useful on thoughts on how appropriate such a media form would be for staff in a university environment to post tips and solutions to one another. Would you use this if your university offered such a service? Would it work or would you have the same problems as in knowledgeGarden promoting people to add and edit the page?
1.4 Your Say
What do you think about using wiki's in a support environment? Have your say in the following questions and in the sections of this page.
Do you think that a wiki page would be a viable medium to ask questions and provide tips and answers to one another in a university IT environment?
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Andrew
Yes I think it could, however it would need an easier to use editing system, such as a WYSIWYG editor, as having to learn wiki tags would turn people
Agreed. If people are going to add tips, they don't want to learn a new system to do so. It's hard enough getting people to add their ideas, without adding additional barriers. You'll still get the techno geeks, but lose the rest of the community. Have you looked at Wetpaint? It is totally WYSIWYG, no wiki syntax at all. Carole (Great,thanks Carole I will check this out.)
Carole
Yes, I do. It would be very focussed on user needs, as they would be the ones adding in questions that they couldn't solve. If you had a core group of people answering those questions within a minimum turnaround time, and feeding them into general FAQ pages, it would be great. Perhaps a page for new questions, and then these would be taken off after a certiain time and added into the core pages, as appropriate. I think you'd find it hard to get users to add their own tips though - people don't usually have the time for this, unless it's their job or, like you say, they have a real passion for it, in which case they are doing your job! You might, though, get people improving on answers once they've tried something out.
Excellent comments, especially on the turn around time being important. This is one of the reasons I considered an editable wiki rather than existing webpages currenlty being used in many support areas. Using it as a tempory interaction area before moving important solutions to another central resource or knowledge base should work well, provided it is managed correctly.
Randy
Perhaps it could work if comments and input were integrated with an email system: if a person could send an email to and have it entered automatically into a wiki page, for example. That way people would be able to use it quickly and easily without having to learn a new piece of software.
This is an excellent idea Randy for those who do not feel comfortable editing a wiki. In this page people have done this by adding comments to the bottom of the page, which I have incorporated into the page. If a range of people can edit the page, such as IT support people while on site entering solutions for current problems they have found it would simlify the updating processes bottle necks that often occur on normal web pages waiting for them to be updated.
Carole
Andrew, I've just found out that our library have started a wiki - using Wetpaint - to support students / staff in their queries about the library. There are pages on use of laptops, databases, Excel, Powerpoint, RSS, wireless hotspots - so lots related to IT, but seemingly in the context of library use. It's very new, I think about a week old. There's quite a bit of activity for something so new and not yet promoted in the uni, but it may be self-generated. Hard to tell when the 'anonymous' sign in is used. I know from conversations with my boss that it has IT in a spin as they are using an external wiki host for something that is intended for the whole university (and Richard's point on my Wetpaint page, about where do we stand re policy when we are using a wiki that contains advertisements). The URL for the site is http://csulibrary.wetpaint.com. I've contacted the person who has set it up, and she is keen to share experiences with me. I could ask her if she's willing to talk to you as well, if you like, if you think it might offer some insight into using wikis for support. Remember, though, that this is very new, and so they won't have lots to tell about issues etc. But it may be worthwhile in a month or so . . . let me know here or via email if you'd like to contact her.
The site looks great Carole and it would be very useful to find out how things go. I can see issues with monitoring pages that have 'anonymous' sign in and how that wokrs, especially bieng open to the internet. An Intranet be an option we might need to consider or have user accounts, even if they are for groups or departments rather than individuals.
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Has a wiki worked here in the knowledgeGarden environment, in this page or other pages you have created, to provide a means for people to provide support to one another?
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Andrew
It has not worked as well as I had hoped here, maybe because people are not into customer support, or I did not advertise the page well enough or lay it out well enough
Anyone can comment here on my comment and I will comment on yours
Carole
I think it has worked where people have very specific shared interests. I've looked at many pages where people are supporting each other very very well. Ideas, knowledge and resources are being shared freely. But in some cases, people have pages which are quite good, yet others simply aren't interested - techniques used are the same, but the topic isn't of interest (perhaps this is one of them?). One of the key aspects of community is this idea of shared common interests; without it the community is weak. I think this page could have more spaces for people to ask questions, and where you can provide the answer. If you look at some of the most successful pages in KG, this is a key feature. And that's what people want from a support page - somewhere they can ask questions, not where they have to do added work to provide answers that they may not have (if learning new systems). But I may be wrong (have been loads of times before! )
Yes Carole, by providing places such as these table has worked very well for others on other pages. I have attempted two things in this page and I realise it would have been better to have two pages. One for the assistance and one to analyse the best layout techniques. Your comment on common interests and how people will add to pages they can relate to. This is true here as this page is an IT customer support focus and there may not be too many of us in this course. However in a work environment poeple who have problems or solutions need somewhere to go and this looks like a possible solution. Andrew
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2. Getting started in knowledgeGarden
The environment knowledgeGarden is quite different to many programs you may have used before. One comment people first using it is that is hard to navigate and find your way around. As users can create and edit almost any page in the wiki this causes the "garden" to grow in many directions. The following steps will guide you through the garden and link to pages that exist.
URinvited2 Add links to any pages and a short description on areas that you found useful to get started in the knowledgeGarden. To create a link to another page in knowledgeGarden type ((Page Name))
HowTo: Wiki page tags examples - Sample tags that you can copy from the page without needing to edit the page to access the code. Tag examples on this page are shown in blue coloured text.
Have you learned something this week and are willing to share it? Then add into one of the sections or add it here an it will be moved to the most appropriate section later.
Add your tip or experience here.
2.1 Editing and copying tags between pages
Wiki tag examples on this page are shown in blue and can be copied from the page without being in the edit mode.
Copying between pages
To make use of the tag in your pages consider using one of the following methods to copy the tags:
Open this window in a separate window by right-clicking (Command button on Mac) on the link and choose Open in New Window to make copying easier.
Open NotePad (or what in a Mac) to copy into and paste from or save for later use in other pages
Pages can be edited by:
opening the page to edit in knowledgeGarden
click on at the top of the page
or click on at the bottom of the page
if these are not available on a page you do not have permission to edit the page.
2.2 Adding Who You Are
In pages you can place a link using and image or test to your user page by inserting one of the following tag. For the image Avatar to work correctly you need to have setup your account correctly. Detailed instructions can be found at HowTo: Setup your knowledgeGarden account.
To add who you are with a link to your user page copy the following text to the tip Who area
Replace text "username" with your username and DisplayName with the name you want to appear. Copy the tag by:
selecting the blue text, without editing the page
right-click on the selection and choose copy
paste the text in the edit mode area of the page you want to copy to
preview the page using the preview button to test the page
The tag to copy is ((userpage:username|Display Name))
2.3 Quicktags
Quicktags is a hidden menu on the left side of the edit screen shown as a + sign
Click in the + sign to display the following menu
Point the mouse at the symbols
A tooltip description will display describing the tool
Click on the tool and edit the tag
2.4 Warnings when editing pages
Previewing a page is great to see how it looks, but Don't test any links in the preview as moving away from the page will Loose all the changes. Save the changes using the save button at the bottom of the screen.
to do a backup or copy of any page click on the button and the wiki page tags are saved to the MyTiki Notepad area, where tags can be edited, copied and converted into pages.
add any other warnings here...
2.5 Adding a page to knowledgeGarden Contents Pages
As the garden grows, informattion will become harder to find, unless pages are linked Contents Pages? it makes it more difficult to find pages in the future.
To quickly create a new page and add it to the table of contents:
Edit the contents page to insert a link to your page before creating you new page
Type the name of the page to create in double round brackets e.g. ((My Page))
As the page does not yet exist in KG the page name with have a ? next to it once the page is saved
By clicking on the ? My Page will be created and linked to the contents page.
2.5.1 Finding Pages in knowledgeGarden
There are many ways of finding pages in KG the some are:
Use the Search text box to type key words
Pages you have edited have links kept in the MYTIKI HOME link if you have turned this on in the Preferences of MYTIKI
Add more tips here...
Other tips for knowledgeGarden can be added and found in the FAQ page
2.6 Summary of this page
Computers are great tools, however there is always something new to learn. This page has been created explore ways that the knowledgeGarden can be used to facilitate people finding assistance and providing assistance to others by adding tips, shortcuts and solutions on computers.
3.0 Ways Display Tips
Displaying help is always a challenge and working out the best way to present the tips using the limited code in the knowledgeGarden open for discussion. Add your ideas here:
3.1 Hidden Comments
Hidden comments provide a + symbol to indicate that information is hidden and by clicking on the + sign the information is displayed. To hide the comments click on the - sign.
3.11 To create a hidden comment
To add hidden comments there are several ways to insert tags. They are:
Click on the Quicktags + in the left side of the edit view and click on the tool. The tag *- indicates the start of the hidden bulleted comment. ! finishes the hidden comment.
Type !- to start the hidden comment and ! to finish it.
Example of a Hidden Comment - click on the + sign to see the comment. Look inside for some wiki code ideas
1. Using the *- tag as follows:
*-
This is a hidden comment
It can use levels of bullets
Tables, images, Avatars and text can be inserted here
That is great Jennifer, I had not thought of that. I was considering taking up less space and hiding items not to print and expanding one that you want to. Back to the drawing board for me on this. Since I started this page I have found there is a lot more to the Wiki code, such as anchors and linking to other page anchors. I can see uses for this to simply use items on other pages.
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Positive comment
Negative comment
3.2 Tables
Another way to display tips is to use tables. Tables provide structure and columns.
Showing help graphically. Alot of people are visual learners (like myself!) and I would find it easier to follow instructions if I could see corresponding graphics. For example, when you ask people to use the hidden comment quick tag, you could show a small screen shot of the quick tag icon as shown below:
To add comments to this page use the hidden comments function that you will find in the Quicktags menu:
Just a negative comment on the use of red text. Some people ( I am one) find it difficult to read red text. For me the red text blurs on the page and I find I need to adjust and concentrate heavily to read it without discomfort.
Do you have a list of accessible colours (websafe codes) that are best or a link a page that contains them? I will adjust the colours and the hidden areas. Excel tips are great. Not everyone would necessarily know these.
Hi Andrew, The majority of accessibility sites advise to use CSS for markup not direct code such as font color does, which is ok if you can use css. Not all people would have the issue with the red text that I have, but some colour blind users may not see the colour red at all.
This site possible says it best: Emphasis If you use color alone to achieve typographic emphasis, users who cannot distinguish the colors will miss the emphasis. To emphasize text — for example, in headers or key phrases within text — so that it won't be overlooked, use bold formatting as well as color. (Indeed, colored text for anything that is not a link is a potential usability flaw that you might as well avoid altogether. See Colored text, above.) Also be sure that there is sufficient contrast between the background and text on your page. Although contrast is particularly important for vision-impaired users, all users will benefit from greater readability.
Hi Jennifer. Do you have a list of accessible colours (websafe codes) that are best or a link a page that contains them? I will adjust the colours and the hidden areas. Excel tips are great. Not everyone would necessarily know these. Andrew
Hi Andrew, Just a negative comment on the use of red text. Some people ( I am one) find it difficult to read red text. For me the red text blurs on the page and I find I need to adjust and concentrate heavily to read it without discomfort. Regards Jennifer
I read my comments and thought my goodness I have only been negative on your page, so to balance this out I added a couple of Excel Tips, even though I think most people will already be aware of these... Regards Jennifer
I haven't added any tips yet, Andrew but will when something comes to mind.
I would like to make a suggestions for your page and that is a section within the knowledge garden help section which kind of brings together all the sources of help. Graphically, as Cherie suggested, perhaps. So I have looked at a couple of different pages like the starting tutorial and the tour, and also the FAQ page. There are also sources of help like guides and the forums, all of which is great. But one question that remains, is what sort of questions are best asked where? Some kind of hierarchy based on user - perhaps. So - are you a new user - try this page. What are you trying to do - "create a poll" - What kinds of things can be done? etc etc. I haven't yet figured out how to create a poll, btw!! Somethings also seem to be in quicklinks - but other things aren't. There's some really obvious stuff like creating a bullet point which I only just figured out by seeing what someone else had done - so maybe "Beyond quicklinks". There might also be a "I'm getting really confident now - Advanced users" section. I hope this isn't too garbled. It's getting late! cheers, Aliya
Some good points Aliya. I will be looking at presenting this information a different format. There is too much here, so I am looking for ideas from the community to . I have recently worked out how to link form one page to a bookmark on another page, so that could be useful to link into existing pages such as FAQ to a specific topic. Guides are looking into adding more to the QuickLinks, so any ideas put on the page above, add sections, questions whatever you like and I will sort it out in the next week when I restructure the page... Andrew
Add Name here
Add idea here
4. Tips and Ideas
Edit the following section and add your details (if you want or remain anonymous don't fill in the who part)
Tips Area
Tips are divided into different sections and to conserve space each section can be expanded and collapsed. To expand a section click on the + sign below each title. To add tips click on the edit button at the top or bottom of the page and add tips by copying the way the other tips have been added (a tip is to copy and paste a tip and edit the one you copy).
Windows Explorer: To open Windows Explorer or My Computer in Windows 98, 2000 or XP, press Windows key + E. This means you press and hold the Windows key (between the Ctrl and Alt keys) and press and release the E key. Windows Explorer opens with all folders collapsed.
For those with a scroll wheel mouse: Hold the Ctrl key and use your scroll wheel on your mouse and you can increase or decrease the view size of your page. This works in Word as well.
Moving sheets from one file to another: Open the file you have your work in and the file you wish to move it too. Right click on the sheet name to bring up the shortcut menu, choose Move or Copy. The Move or Copy window will open, click on the drop down menu and choose the file you want to move the sheet to then click the OK button. You will now be taken to the file and the new sheet will be inserted. Save the file. You will not need to reformat as you sometimes need to when doing a copy and paste. Note: If you want to keep the sheet in your original file just close the original file and choose to not__ save any changes, this way the sheet will be in the two files.
Selection: To select a block of text of any shape or size press and hold the Alt key and drag the mouse over the area.
Details
Date added
Your tip
4.4 knowledgeGarden Tips
Contributors to this page: MadDad
,
jenner
,
jillybean21
,
Lyndab
,
jennifer
,
Carole1801
and
Cherie
.
Page last modified on Sunday 15 of October, 2006 18:40:47 EST by MadDad .
The content on this page is licensed under the terms of the knowledgeGarden copyright.
Info. 
Wiki
. I've contacted the person who has set it up, and she is keen to share experiences with me. I could ask her if she's willing to talk to you as well, if you like, if you think it might offer some insight into using wikis for support. Remember, though, that this is very new, and so they won't have lots to tell about issues etc. But it may be worthwhile in a month or so . . . let me know here or via email if you'd like to contact her. 
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