Journal #7: Wikis!

Definition: Wikis

A wiki is a website that allows multiple users to create, edit, update, and maintain the content of their very own webpage through a web browser.  They are free and relatively easy to use.  They may have one or multiple administrators who can monitor what is added to the wiki.  It is very useful when collaborating because many people can add content and benefit from the information added by others.  There are options to make wikis open to the public or private by invitation only.  Users may add to an established page or create new pages that are easily navigable through hyperlinks, indices, or tables of content.  Again, security and privacy settings are unique to each wiki and decided by the adminstrator(s).

Discussion 1: Using Wikis

This was a great discussion full of ideas for educators to incorporate wikis into their classroom to either use with students or colleagues.  One educator created a school wiki with her school to collaborate between different grade levels and within each grade to coordinate based on math core curriculum.  In essence, they used their wiki as a tool to evaluate where they were and needed to be by comparing and sharing ideas.  That same user also created a wiki to facilitate the launch of a new social studies program she was using.  She mentioned the wiki was more useful than a basic googledoc because there was more participation on the wiki.  The teachers using this pilot program were able to share materials, questions, frustrations and concerns with each other.  They even invited the publishing company to their wikipage to get even more feedback. 

Most of the teachers provided links to their own webpages they created for certain classes.  I was very interested to see how elementary school teachers had used wikis with younger children.  It is evident how wikis can be utilized by teachers and administrators to collaborate, but how can they be more student-centered in a K-5 setting?  One 5th grade class created a page dedicated to The Hobbit and added content as they read, pictures of characters and settings, links, and other fun activities.  They were required to post on discussion boards to keep them engaged and track the collaborative aspect of using a wiki.  Overall, this particular discussion was rich with different ideas and obvious enthusiasm about incorporating Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.

Discussion 2: Wikis - the blind leading the blind?

This discussion was very interesting to me because it brought up some common questions about wikis and also addressed the comparison between a wiki and a blog (which can essentially be used like a wiki but unidirectional).

The original poster or OP (there is some computer lingo for you) posed this question because he was confronted with the concern of an administrator that wikis were responsible for the "mass dissemination of misinformation," because pages are open for editing by those not always well-informed.  The point was made that as educators we should be teaching our students to be critical of any information they come across and always check sources, but ultimately are technologies like wikis making this type of misinformation easier?

Most of the debate followed the thought that wikis are a positive resource in the classroom (not surprisingly since the teachers on this site are mostly tech savvy or at least open to technology).  The common argument was that with a responsible administrator, a student wiki could be monitored closely and there would be no reason to worry about the "blind" leading the blind.  Worry about public wikis like Wikipedia are also not warranted because with enough people fact-checking Wikipedia posts, the information provided is usually quite accurate.  "Properly run, there is a self-correcting aspect that a Wiki has that helps ensure that it is correct and valid."