Web site: www.pbworks.com
Category: Network
Subcategory: Wiki
Platform: Linux
License: Proprietary
Interface: Web-interface
Wikipedia: PBworks
First release: 2005
PBworks (previously: PBwiki) is a commercial tool for building web pages that are easy to handle and use by users. It allows multiple users to edit and change its content through a system of multiple simultaneous authentications. The company operates on a freemium basis, where basic features are offered freely; and advanced features require a monthly or annual fee. The free version is limited to 100 users with editing powers (there is no limit on users allowed to simply access the pages and files), and 2GB of storage space.
The “workspaces” created can be public or private, and may refer to other sites; and its operation is largely similar to hosting a blog. They are intended for building and editing web pages, in addition to preparing, editing and storing files; everything can be done collaboratively.
It was created by David Weekly, with Ramit Sethi and Nathan Schmidt joining shortly after as co-founders. It is based in San Mateo, California, and its name originated from the central idea behind the site, which is to make collaborative work in the form of wikis something as simple as making a peanut butter sandwich (“peanut butter” ).
Given the growing diffusion of distance education modalities, the search for tools that allow, in a simple way, collaborative work between students, tutors and teachers is increasing. PBworks, then, is inserted in the educational context as an easy-to-use tool, requiring little technical knowledge, and allowing dynamic interaction between its members through web pages built for this purpose in a matter of a few minutes.