Joel+Rodriguez

=**Socialtext**= =**vs.**= =**Wikispaces**=

In this article, I will be comparing two online programs for creating wikis, Socialtext (ST) and Wikispaces (WS).

Setup
The winner here is Wikispaces. After creating an account, which is just as easy as creating an email account, you are ready to go. For someone new to wikis, I found it very easy and logical to setup [|my wiki] to look how I wanted it to look. For ST, it took a little longer to figure out how to set up an account, but once I got going it was very easy. The downside is that it is only a 14-day trial, and you must contact ST to get pricing information. It seems to be more powerful than WS, but geared more for businesses than education. It was also a little more complicated to to figure out what my wiki would look like, and the appearance is very limited. You can see for yourself by checking out my [|dashboard.] If you were unable to see it, then you understand why I am already liking Wikispaces more. I have not figured out how give a link for someone to see all of my wiki!

Inviting People
Inviting people to collaborate or view your wiki on both platforms was very easy. Short of calling this a tie, I would give the edge to Socialtext. The reason being of the easiness of finding the invite link, which is located on the dashboard. Click on the link and enter email address. Both WS and ST have standard invitation message and a text box for you to enter an additional message, but ST offers the collaborator a short set of instructions for editing the wiki. it took me a little longer to find the invite link under the "Manage" options in WS, but once you know where it is it is very easy to invite.

Editing
Wikispaces is the winner in by book as a new user. Both platforms offer WYSIWYG editing, but the toolbar on WS is much easier to use and is similar to the toolbar on Googlepages. In addition, you can change to look to personalize your wiki, whereas ST makes you download a skin kit and a set of lengthy instructions. Not worth it in my opinion. WS offers 4 different templates free of charge and additional templates for about a 6 dollar upgrade. ST only offers one standard template. Both platforms make it easy to add links, headers, images, and charts, but WS makes it easier to embed widgets and add color to the fonts.

Version Control
We have a tie! Yes, both sites do a great job of version control. What I liked about WS is that it is easily tabbed "History" and accessible all the time and from any page. In addition, you can monitor the pages you create and be notified by email of any edits. You can also track edits through an RSS feed. ST does not allow you to view the history from the page, but does provide a link in the Dashboard. It lists all your pages and the number of changes, which is coll to have if you have multiple wikis. Both platforms allow you to compare versions side-by-side, highlighting changes, and revert to older versions.

Discussion
Wikispaces takes it here. ST allows users to comment with a comment tab, but I like how WS gives you the tab. I just prefer tabs. Users can leave comments for others to read, but calling it a discussions opens to opportunity for more collaboration.

Subscription to Articles
Another tie. Both sites allow readers to subscribe via RSS feeds. One cool feature that almost gives ST an edge on this category is the ability to convert your page into HTML, MS Word (We love Microsoft!) or PDF. For classroom use, I don't really see a use for this yet. You can also access your ST wiki from a Blackberry smartphone, iPhone, Treo or Palm devices. Again, this is a great feature to have in a business, but you can do without in the classroom (or can you?)

Security
The security features on both platforms are very similar. Both allow you to control who edits, who can read and who can comment. ST allows you to back up your data with the company and generate usage reports. WS allows only you to limit your wiki to members only for a small fee. For this reason, ST takes this category (although they are already charging me who knows what - so I may have to take this one back). This is a must if you are going to create wikis for students.

Contributions
For its ease in figuring it out, Wikispaces is a winner again. Students can contribute and, if you are allowing members only, you can track who has contributed how many times, and see exactly what they edited (which is why I have kept everything appropriate, even though I can delete it). This feature is also available in ST. ST will, for a large fee, train your company in the use of your wiki ensure everyone knows how to collaborate. I am sure in a large company, this is important to have. In the classroom, however, all the students need to know they can learn from the teacher.

If you have not guessed by now, I prefer Wikispaces over Socialtext. The bottom line is that Socialtext is not designed for education and Wikispaces is. Spending some time on Socialtext, I was able to see the ways wikis are used beyond the class and Wikipedia. I am sure it has inmense values for the corporations who use it, but it is too much to learn as an administrator of the Wiki. In education, sometimes we need something that any teacher, regardless of technology skills, can use. It is a neat tool that I have been inspired to use.