Web-Based Collaboration Tools
ARCS is investigating a number of tool kits and packages that provide researchers with the necessary facilities to collaborate seamlessly with other like-minded researchers irrespective of distance. These may include -
| Sakai |
Sakai is an online Collaboration and Learning Environment. Many users of Sakai deploy it to support teaching and learning, ad hoc group collaboration, support for portfolios and research collaboration. |
| Drupal | Drupalis a ready-to-run content management system, that provides you with a system for managing web content that is ideal for project groups, communities, web sites, extranets and intranets. |
| Plone | Plone is a ready-to-run content management system, that provides you with a system for managing web content that is ideal for project groups, communities, web sites, extranets and intranets. |
| Wiki (various) |
A wiki allows users to easily create, edit, and link pages together. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites. |
What is a Content Management System (CMS)?
A CMS allows a website to be developed and maintained by a community of users, each of whom will have a certain defined role and associated permissions.
For example, in the context of developing a collaborative website, the following roles may be in place for authenticated (i.e. logged-in) users
- a user who can create, edit and publish content
- a user who can create, edit, delete and publish content
- a user who can administer the site
- a user who may not create or edit content, but might be able to contribute to blogs, or add comments
This allows members of that particular website community to share information privately (between authenticated users only) or publicly (so that visitors to the site- the general public- may see certain content). Such information could be web pages, blogs, comments, data files, images, etc.
Authenticated users need only a web browser to be able to create/edit content. Thus, a CMS allows the website to develop via the interaction between its users, and allows a dynamic development of the site.
What is a Wiki?
Similar in concept to a CMS, a Wiki allows a community of users to edit and develop a website. Various levels of restriction may be applied to access for a Wiki- editing access could be restricted to a small group of users, or opened up to a large and more public group (whilst still requiring some type of registration).