Difference between revisions of "WikiVet English:About"

Revision as of 16:43, 22 December 2011

Introduction

WikiVet is a collaborative initiative involving UK veterinary schools with support from a number of commercial and government sponsors. The project is creating a comprehensive online knowledge base which covers the entire veterinary curriculum. This will provide a reliable reference source to supersede Wikipedia for veterinary students, nurses and graduates anywhere in the world. To find out what WikiVet has to offer see WikiVet Introduction.

Site Development

WikiVet has been created in a similar way to its big brother Wikipedia. However there are three distinct differences between the two systems. First, all the content relates specifically to the veterinary curriculum. Second, all the content has been authored by vets and students and is peer reviewed by subject specialists at one of the participating veterinary schools. Finally, access to the site is restricted to the veterinary community in order to ensure that the general public are not able to edit the content.

A unique feature of WikiVet has been the level of cooperation not only between academics at different schools but also involving the students. At the beginning, over 40 student authors have worked together writing most of the content and this has been reviewed by recent graduates. The students have enjoyed this work and claim that they have learnt a lot more about the subject matter as a result. Their inspiration has also resulted in a number of significant improvements to the site such as interactive content maps, flash cards and clinical cases.

History

2007

The WikiVet project started work in April 2007 and initially involved academics from Cambridge, Edinburgh and the Royal Veterinary College. The initial funding was provided by JISC and HEA. The first stage involved the creation of WikiPath covering the veterinary pathology undergraduate curriculum. This has subsequently been extended to include WikiAnatomy and Physiology, WikiBlood, WikiBugs, WikiVPH, WikiClinical and more.

2008

In 2008 the project was joined by the Nottingham Veterinary School. Activity on the site expanded to cover most of the curriculum including new section on WikiNormals and WikiDrugs.

The British Society of Toxicological Pathologists funded the WikiVet server in November 2008.

2009

In January 2009 the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Trust provided funding to cover the development of an interactive question bank called WikiQuiz.

Pfizer are funding the general WikiVet site development and sponsoring the WikiMaster from 2009 - 2014.

A new section relating to most aspects of donkeys started to be developed in Autumn 2009. The content was provided and sponsored by The Donkey Sanctuary. Also in 2009, WikiSnakes and WikiLizards started to be developed.

2010

Restructure to improve the user-friendliness of the whole site was started and we hope for it to be finished soon. This will make it easier to use the search function and get to the topic of interest fast. Categories are being used to allow for navigation via different routes. The work is to continue in 2011.

Snakes and Lizard sections are completed now.

A new collaboration with CABI has allowed links to CABIAbstracts literature search to be inserted on many pages. Some direct links to full text articles have also been included. The full text articles can be accessed by any WikiVet user but the literature search is only accessible via CABI subscribing organisation or personal subscription.

2011

Restructuring the site work continues.

A new function has been added to allow users to view pages in PDF format or create their personal 'book' to print.

Recruiting expert reviewers for the content is now one of the priorities.

More Information

More detail about some developments can be found on Wiki News pages

You can find out more about the team currently working on the site at WikiVet Team and the community of practice which has been working on the wiki in the past: Wiki Vet Community

Companies and organisations that sponsored WikiVet: Sponsors

Educational research behind the WikiVet approach Theories

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No derivatives 3.0 License

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==Introduction==
-WikiVet<sup>®</sup> is a collaborative initiative involving UK veterinary schools with support from a number of commercial and government [[Sponsors|sponsors]]. The project is creating a comprehensive online knowledge base which covers the entire veterinary curriculum. This will provide a reliable reference source to supersede Wikipedia for veterinary students, nurses and graduates anywhere in the world. To find out what WikiVet<sup>®</sup> has to offer see [[WikiVet Introduction|WikiVet<sup>®</sup> Introduction]].
+WikiVet is a collaborative initiative involving UK veterinary schools with support from a number of commercial and government [[Sponsors|sponsors]]. The project is creating a comprehensive online knowledge base which covers the entire veterinary curriculum. This will provide a reliable reference source to supersede Wikipedia for veterinary students, nurses and graduates anywhere in the world. To find out what WikiVet has to offer see [[WikiVet Introduction]].
-==Charitable Structure==
+==Site Development==
-The WikiVet site is managed by the [[WikiVet_Educational_Foundation|WikiVet Educational Foundation]] a UK Registered Charity number 1160546.
+WikiVet has been created in a similar way to its big brother Wikipedia. However there are three distinct differences between the two systems. First, all the content relates specifically to the veterinary curriculum. Second, all the content has been authored by vets and students and is peer reviewed by subject specialists at one of the participating veterinary schools. Finally, access to the site is restricted to the veterinary community in order to ensure that the general public are not able to edit the content.
-==Site Development==
+A unique feature of WikiVet has been the level of cooperation not only between academics at different schools but also involving the students. At the beginning, over 40 student authors have worked together writing most of the content and this has been reviewed by recent graduates. The students have enjoyed this work and claim that they have learnt a lot more about the subject matter as a result. Their inspiration has also resulted in a number of significant improvements to the site such as interactive content maps, flash cards and clinical cases.
-WikiVet<sup>®</sup> has been created in a similar way to its big brother Wikipedia. However there are three distinct differences between the two systems. First, all the content relates specifically to the veterinary curriculum. Second, all the content has been authored by vets and students and is peer reviewed by subject specialists at one of the participating veterinary schools. Finally, access to the site is restricted to the veterinary community in order to ensure that the general public are not able to edit the content.
+==History==
+===2007===
+The WikiVet project started work in April 2007 and initially involved academics from Cambridge, Edinburgh and the [[UK - Royal Veterinary College, London|Royal Veterinary College]]. The initial funding was provided by [http://www.jisc.ac.uk/ JISC] and [[Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine|HEA]]. The first stage involved the creation of WikiPath covering the veterinary pathology undergraduate curriculum. This has subsequently been extended to include [[Anatomy and Physiology|WikiAnatomy and Physiology]], [[WikiBlood]], [[Infectious agents and parasites|WikiBugs]], [[Veterinary Public Health|WikiVPH]], [[WikiClinical]] and more.
+===2008===
+In 2008 the project was joined by the [[UK - School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Nottingham|Nottingham Veterinary School]]. Activity on the site expanded to cover most of the curriculum including new section on WikiNormals and WikiDrugs.
+The [http://www.bstp.org.uk/ British Society of Toxicological Pathologists] funded the WikiVet server in November 2008.
+===2009===
+In January 2009 the [http://trust.rcvs.org.uk/home/ Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Trust] provided funding to cover the development of an interactive question bank called WikiQuiz.
-A unique feature of WikiVet<sup>®</sup> has been the level of cooperation not only between academics at different schools but also involving the students. At the beginning, over 40 student authors have worked together writing most of the content and this has been reviewed by recent graduates. The students have enjoyed this work and claim that they have learnt a lot more about the subject matter as a result. Their inspiration has also resulted in a number of significant improvements to the site such as interactive content maps, flash cards and clinical cases.
+[http://www.pfizer.co.uk/SITES/PFIZERCOUK/Pages/Home.aspx Pfizer] are funding the general WikiVet site development and sponsoring the WikiMaster from 2009 - 2014.
-Our principle objectives are:
+A new section relating to most aspects of donkeys started to be developed in Autumn 2009. The content was provided and sponsored by [http://drupal.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/ The Donkey Sanctuary]. Also in 2009, WikiSnakes and WikiLizards started to be developed.
-* To provide a comprehensive knowledge base covering all aspects of veterinary science for all domestic species;
+===2010===
-* To address the entire veterinary and related curriculum in order to provide a reliable and trusted resource for students anywhere in the world;
-* To use the new opportunities offered by e-learning to support professional lifelong learning;
-* To foster a new community of veterinary educators, learners and practitioners using social media with a common interest in veterinary education;
-* To create a sustainable model which ensures the longterm viability and growth of the site.
-== Current Status ==
+Restructure to improve the user-friendliness of the whole site was started and we hope for it to be finished soon. This will make it easier to use the search function and get to the topic of interest fast. Categories are being used to allow for navigation via different routes. The work is to continue in 2011.
-WikiVet was established in 2007 to provide online access to a comprehensive veterinary curriculum. The consortium was initially formed by three UK veterinary schools (RVC, Edinburgh and Cambridge) and was subsequently joined by Nottingham. It has now grown to include over 10 additional associated academic institutions as well as forming a close association with parts of the commercial veterinary sector. WikiVet now has a registered user base of over 35,000 members of whom about 60% are veterinary students from over 90 countries around the world.
-At present, the WikiVet site provides an extensive knowledge base supported by interactive learning materials. This pedagogical mix of online resources has been developed based on feedback from veterinary educators and focus groups of learners. This mix has evolved with time from a multi-user generated wiki to a more complex learning package integrating curriculum resources with supplementary text and references provided by an employed team of authors. The site now has one of the largest veterinary collection of educational resources on the web.
+Snakes and Lizard sections are completed now.
-WikiVet continues to and now offers registered users free access to:
+A new collaboration with [http://www.cabi.org/ CABI] has allowed links to CABIAbstracts literature search to be inserted on many pages. Some direct links to full text articles have also been included. The full text articles can be accessed by any WikiVet user but the literature search is only accessible via CABI subscribing organisation or personal subscription.
-* Over 5,000 assets comprising text, diagrams and images covering topics relevant to veterinary basic sciences, clinical medicine, veterinary nursing and the general public (ongoing)
+===2011===
-* A sophisticated category system to provide rapid browsing by system, species or discipline
-* Over 400 Flashcards with links to WikiVet pages and commercial textbooks
-* A database of over 300 Multiple choice questions and feedback authored by subject experts
-* A comprehensive set of drag and drop exercises on a wide range of topics
-* A Facebook site and linked Twitter feed with regular updates and links to the site
-* An iTunes site with podcast feeds in English, French and Spanish
-* Spanish and French sub sites with a subset of translated content
-* A video database including over 200 veterinary videos to enhance site content
-* Links to key references and full text articles through the CABI database
-The number of users of the site has grown significantly since its launch as the content has improved and developed to cover more topics. In addition there has been increasing interest from academic institutions, veterinary organisations and the commercial sector. Figure 2 shows the growth in international registrations to the site.
+Restructuring the site work continues.
-A proportion of the site was made open for public access in 2010 and as a result this content has been widely indexed by Google and the number of visits has steadily grown to over 1 million individual visits in the last year alone.
+A new function has been added to allow users to view pages in PDF format or create their personal 'book' to print.
-WikiVet has been dependent on the generosity of a large number of organisations committed to supporting veterinary education. These include the Higher Education Academy, RCVS Trust, Pfizer Global Alliances, Ceva, Mars Ltd and the Donkey Sanctuary who have all provided funding. Other organisations which have assisted with providing content and support including Elsevier, Mansons Publishing, CABI, IVIS and VetPrep. In addition colleagues and students at all the collaborating veterinary schools have been fundamental to the projects success. Finally the site has been dependent on the good will and time of numerous volunteer students and academics around the world.
+Recruiting expert reviewers for the content is now one of the priorities.
 ==More Information==
-*More detail about some developments can be found on [[News_Archive|WikiVet<sup>®</sup> News]] pages
+*More detail about some developments can be found on [[News_Archive|Wiki News]] pages
-*You can find out more about the team currently working on the site at [[WikiVet Team|WikiVet<sup>®</sup> Team]] and the community of practice which has been working on the wiki in the past: [[Introduction|WikiVet<sup>®</sup> Community]]
+*You can find out more about the team currently working on the site at [[WikiVet Team]] and the community of practice which has been working on the wiki in the past: [[Introduction|Wiki Vet Community]]
-*Companies and organisations that sponsored WikiVet<sup>®</sup>: [[Sponsors]]
+*Companies and organisations that sponsored WikiVet: [[Sponsors]]
-*Educational research behind the WikiVet<sup>®</sup> approach [[Theories]]
+*Educational research behind the WikiVet approach [[Theories]]