WikiNodes was an app for the Apple iPad built by IDEA.org.Wikipedia's 'The Signpost' 13 June 2011, In the news. 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 displayed related items (articles or sections of an article), which spread on the screen, as a spiderweb of icons.Mossberg, Walt. "Encyclopaedia Britannica Now Fits Into an App", 28 September 2011. The Wall Street Journal. The article mentions WikiNodes, while discussing the Britannica app, noting that "This kind of visual array of related items isn’t a new idea. In fact, there is an iPad app called WikiNodes which does something similar for Wikipedia content."
Operation
The app used the SpicyNodes visualization technique which was awarded a "best for teaching and learning" award in 2011 from American Association of School Librarians (AASL),AASL. June 2011. Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning. and voted #edchat's 35 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools in 2010.edudemic.com, "The 35 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools Chosen By You" (August July 2010).
The user interface was based on two display modes: Page view – displays Wikipedia articles in long form, similar to how they appear on the main Wikipedia web site.WikiNodes: app that presents a keyword to a word association game. Ideal for expedition Wikipedia! (Japanese) AppBank Node view – divides Wikipedia articles into sections, and links articles to related articles, similar to mind mapping."The interface presentation of information [is] similar to that of mind mapping, which I love." – Jess Seilheimer, Digilicious 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."The interface is a freestyle drag and zoom bonanza that lets you jump between related articles easily." – iPad Apps This provides a visual way to see the relationships between articles."[WikiNodes]...could redefine the way that you use Wikipedia on the iOS." – Blake Grundman, 148Apps"WikiNodes takes the huge sprawling maze of information that is Wikipedia and organizes it into a spider web of knowledge." – Phil Hornshaw, Yahoo! News & Appolicious In June 2011, the app supported the 36 top Wikipedia languages (by number of articles).
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.To see history of prior features in the Apple app store, adjust the date on this App Annie page It has been favorably covered by several bloggers, including those in the references below.WikiNodes for iPad – Making Wikipedia Fun to Explore by Patrick Jordan on May 11, 2011 / http://ipadinsight.com/ipad-app-reviews/wikinodes-for-ipad-making-wikipedia-fun-to-explore/
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 Direct link to listing in Apple app store