WikiHow is a database that shows many different guides on how to do something. Most topics that you can think of may already be on the WikiHow page. These actions can be physical or even how to mentally get through something. Wiki How provides you with the step by step process. There can even be different methods to do a certain thing within that one page. The sites slogan is “We’re trying to help everyone on the planet learn how to do anything. Join us.” When launch the page you also see many suggested articles to read about. On the right tab site, they also have many different categories so that you can narrow down your search.
When creates a WikiHow you first have to go to write an article. The database has two different search bars so that you may narrow down what it is you would like to talk about. The firsts search engine is “I know what I want to write about” and the second is “I want topic suggestions”. These search engines also help you to figure out are there similar topics out already.
If there is already a topic out with the with the exact topic, they will give you an option to add to the already existing article. Just like Wikipedia you can go back and edited another person’s work, as long as it is approved by the WikiHow community. This helps people to share their knowledge on topics that may be know.
The only way you can have the same topic if the topic is more detailed. For example, there can be a topic on how to bake cookies. The way you can create the topic to be different is “how to back peanut butter cookies” or “How to bake healthy fat-free cookies”.
Once you have figure out your way to make your topic different from the ones out it is time to create your page. You can add an introduction, things you will need, steps, videos, images, comma, and even warning. The draft section breaks up these categories so that you are able to type right under each section. They also include an Advanced editing section for people who know how to code instead.
The process of creating a WikiHow page can be fun bit also intense. For example, a student’s page created is “how to create a geometrical sculpture on a budget”. This a simple project that you can do at home using, shish kebab sticks, a lid, a hot glue gun, and spray paint.
The inspiration for this project came from a project recreated in the summer of 2017. It was a YouTube video based on home décor. After doing this project to redesign a college room. Time having my own room in college. This project really wanted your room to look nice and decorative but also understanding that you are on a budget. Finding this YouTube video definitely helped and gave great pieces to use to recreate. This was chosen as a WikiHow page because for one, no one else has made one on it. Also, it is proven that at this time where we are all college students on a budget. We need to learn how to use what we have to get what we want.
Trying to break down the process to become a WikiHow was a little more difficult than intended. It was found that after completing the rough draft to the instructional there was still some things that needed to be added. The next step to solving this problem was to do it step by step to follow the instructions. This helped to see if there was anything that was missing out of the directions and needed to be added. This was actually a great idea; things had been found that actually needed to be a step to make the process clearer.
As it was said in class when we first started “somethings that may be common sense to some people may not be to others.” Simple Steps like “hold till dry” had been missed out. This could be a big step change that wasn’t recognized. Following the instructions and writing at the same time help to clear any empty spaces within the instructions. It may be a little harder to explain things by text, rather than visually because you have to make sure that you are writing everything. As for when the process was on YouTube, the video made it easier to show exactly what to do, even if a step wasn’t clear verbally. It can sometimes be hard to communicate with others clearly the first time because you may be so used to doing it without having to explain anything.
For my project, you can use photos. You can even use videos. The pictures are important to have, but as though some parts were still hard to explain through a picture and they also needed a motion representation to explain what is going on.
Also while going through the process to create visuals it is in your best interest to think which images would be the best to capture on film. It is also a good idea to take more pictures than needed, just to makes sure I got the right ones.
Once your article is complete with the coding and pictures it is time to finally publish. One the article is publishing you can add links to summarize your work so that other people know what to find under. You can also add references links to your article to direct people to other process and to just give credit of where the information was learning from. There is a discuss section on each article as well so that people can give feedback on what they think about the WikiHow page.
I bet there has plenty of times when you have stumbled across a Wikihow page from google. If you look at little closure you may see how useful it is. Overall, the WikiHow community is definitely here to help one another.
