In the past year, more and more professors have started talking about wikis, which are, in essence, communal Web sites that can be edited by anyone who visits them, and some wikis keep logs of past changes. Once the domain of technology enthusiasts, especially advocates of "open source" software that is jointly created by volunteers, wikis are growing increasingly popular in some unlikely corners of academe. The word "wiki" comes from a Hawaiian term for quick, in reference to the rapid rate at which the Web sites change. Bowdoin College assistant English professor Mark Phillipson describes the usage of wikis--editable, communal Websites--in his Romantic poetry course. A handful of professors, including Mr. Phillipson, are now making wikis the focal points of creative-writing and English-literature courses. The professors argue that the communal Web sites promote a more casual, flexible form of class discussion than blogs and message boards.