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WikiNodes
iPad app for browsing Wikipedia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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WikiNodes is an app for the Apple iPad built by IDEA.org.[1] WikiNodes was the first tablet app for browsing Wikipedia using a radial tree approach to visualize how articles and subsections of articles are interrelated. The app displays related items (articles or sections of an article), which spread on the screen, as a spiderweb of icons.[2]
Operation
The app uses the SpicyNodes visualization technique which was awarded a "best for teaching and learning" award in 2011 from American Association of School Librarians (AASL),[3] and voted #edchat's 35 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools in 2010.[4]
The user interface is based on two display modes:
- Page view – displays Wikipedia articles in long form, similar to how they appear on the main Wikipedia web site.[5]
- Node view – divides Wikipedia articles into sections, and links articles to related articles, similar to mind mapping.[6] The user can drag nodes, taps any node to display it in detail, with a panel to scroll to read the contents of the section.[7] This provides a visual way to see the relationships between articles.[8][9]
As of June 2011, the app supports the 36 top Wikipedia languages (by number of articles).
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Reception
The app was highlighted as a "Staff pick" by Apple's U.S. App Store, Week of May 28, 2011; as "New and Noteworthy" by Apple's U.S. App Store, Week of May 5, 2011; and at other times by Apple's app stores for non-US countries.[10] It has been favorably covered by several bloggers, including those in the references below.[11]
See also
- List of Wikipedia mobile applications – Other iOS mobile apps providing access to Wikipedia
- Radial tree – the general type of layout algorithm
- SpicyNodes – Information visualization technique
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
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