Wikis can be wonderful things if they are monitored correctly. Recently, in my ELIB 500 class, Dr. Farmer actually created a wiki for us to use for our weekly journal entries. For us, it was more like a "blog collective" where we each had our own "page" and posted almost exclusively to that. We commented on other pages using the comments option, but almost never actually went in to change someone else's page. We had created an unspoken "rule" about editing other people's journals.
In the regular wiki world, this rule may not really exist. In the case of Wikipedia, that rule has probably never been heard of. Wikis are designed to be added to and edited by the masses (or at least the masses of approved editors).
I can immediately think of some things that wikis can be used for in the class setting. For example, if a teacher were to assign a project, it could be something done as a group, and that group could be either in-class or across the classes. The wiki would provide a safe place where all the members of the group could put their ideas and write the project out. They could organize the duties of each member of the group and post their assignments as they completed them. The teacher could also have access to this wiki and occasionally go online to it to discuss progress, make suggestions, or correct misunderstandings or errors before the assignment is officially turned in. This kind of activity could create a true collaborative atmosphere among the teachers and students. The LMT could also have access to this wiki and use the space to select alternate sites of interest online for research and ideas, as well as books that might be available in the LMC for students to use to go into further depth on their project.
A wiki would also be an excellent place for teachers and the LMT to meet online to work on collaborative issues and create lesson/unit plans that could be used by everyone. If a school wanted to work on creating grade-level projects, a wiki would be great place for everyone to meet and discuss the projects without being forced to do it in between meetings, PDs, and other commitments. This could create a more collegial atmosphere where teachers could relax and feel free to express their opinions in a time and manner that is more suitable and comfortable for them.
The downside to all of this is that people have to 1) have access to a computer with Internet and 2) actually go online. There will always be some people who will refuse to go online and wait for others to do the work instead. And often those people then complain about the outcome. Luckily, the wiki's own editing feature usually includes the backlog of all edits, including who made the edits and when. With this, those who did not contribute to the task can be pulled aside and/or out of the equation when the product is completed. Students who didn't do the work won't get the points, and teachers who did not contribute won't get the credit for the final product.
Monday, June 18, 2007
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I also wrote about participating in the pb wiki for ELIB 500. We really didn't use a wiki as it is intended to be used. However, as an assignment worth about a third of our grade, I'm not sure it would have been fair to allow changes/edits. I was grateful for the unspoken rule of leaving each person's page intact!
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