Sustainability Uses for Wikis

Sustainability Uses for Wikis

Portland State University - EcoWiki

 

When it comes to sustainable education and discussions, the US west coast has more focus, direction, and resources available than other areas of the country.  Portland State University is in the heart of downtown Portland, one of the most progressively green cities in the nation.  As PSU pushes towards greener education, they have developed a wiki called “PSU EcoWiki” which is described as being “The PSU EcoWiki, your local sustainability action hub, exists to provide a central resource to facilitate networking and sharing of information, events, and opportunities related to sustainability.  The site has been designed to allow anyone to easily add content such as news articles, student opportunities, and events.” (http://www.ecowiki.pdx.edu/about/ecowiki

EcoWiki started in 2008, by the PSU’s Campus Sustainability Office, to create a forum for student leaders to create an “online resource was needed to connect the campus and various sustainability initiatives.”  Today, it has over 3,000 subscribers and is now an active part of a bi-weekly bulletin for the sustainability Leadership Center.  It offers an amazing array of green topics such as Art, Climate Change, Earth Week, Culture, Gardens, Design, Education and more.  

            EcoWiki is one of the most successful Wiki’s available on the net today.  That could be because of the full support and endorsement it has from the Portland State University, or it could be due to the sheer commitment of the PSU students to educating other students, community members, and even city residents.  They have done an amazing job of offering a wealth of knowledge and many resources, to a wide range of readers and members.  They offer an EcoWiki Bulletin that doesn’t require readers to correspond or add their input, just provides a  bi-weekly bulletin of information that readers can learn from and apply to their daily lives.  

“Keep informed with the EcoWiki Bulletin:

To ensure that you don't miss any important news, we publish a weekly EcoWiki Bulletin that you can subscribe to.  If you have content or links you'd like to see in the bulletin, please add it to the site or email us at psueco@pdx.edu.”

However, if you have a bit more a socially active side, then perhaps the actual bulletin boards and other inactive forums would better serve your needs.  Therefore, if you would like to be an active participate of EcoWiki then you’ll need to set up an account and explore the site a bit to become familiar with the forums and various topics of discussion.

So, how does one contribute to EcoWiki?  Here is how to participate:

“How to Participate:

If you're new here, start by registering.  Once you've done that, you'll see a 'create content' tab at the top of the site with links to add an article, add an event, or add an opportunity.  Just click one of those then edit and publish!”

As you can see, PSU’s EcoWiki is a great resource for sustainability discussions and other networking outlets.  However, one last place that you can find PSU’s Sustainability Social Media is their Facebook, Twitter, and Delicious pages.   To follow EcoWiki on any of those platforms, you can find them at:

“Find and Follow us...

The PSU Sustainability Leadership Center and the EcoWiki are on a few social networking sites you might be interested in.  You can find:

• The SLC on Facebook, where we share photos, events, and discussion
• The EcoWiki on Twitter, where we share quick updates
• The EcoWiki on Delicious, where we share bookmarked sites we like”

As Wiki’s become more and more popular as social media becomes a staple in modern day communication, one can certainly take their successful cues from PSU’s EcoWiki.  Several important factors contribute to a successful Wiki, which are:

1.      Easily accessible wiki location with a high level of media traffic

2.      Consistent dedication from the site hosts as well as contributing members

3.      Open minded individuals who are willing to listen to as well as share ideas

4.      A wide range of knowledge in varying but similar knowledge

5.      Accurate information being shared which can easily be researched and verified

6.      Utilizing a wide range of social media platforms to promote your wiki site

Following those 6 things and more can provide for a successful wiki and offer a wealth of knowledge and become an unbelievable resource for students, community and city residence and even beyond.  Look at WikiPedia, it has become one of the most visited sites for education and understanding of thousands of topics being utilized by millions of people a day.  A world of knowledge being shared by members of the entire world, now that is a true social network!