Application
Tools and Links
for Further Learning
According to Wikipedia, a wiki is a "website that allows the visitors themselves to easily add, remove, and otherwise edit and change available content, and typically without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring."
In a learning community, the wiki is best used as a place for students to collaborate on course-related content. Since a wiki is a flexible medium, instructors can tailor the use of the wiki to myriad different classroom applications. Here are some of the advantages of a wiki as a collaborative tool in a learning community:
The wiki is web-based, so it can be accessed and edited from anywhere on the web.
The wiki is collaborative, so students can learn from the postings of their peers.
Unlike the blog, where posts can only be edited by their authors (and the administrators), wiki entries can be edited by anyone.
Postings to the wiki are reversible and rollbacks to previous content are possible
The subject matter of a wiki is up to the instructor, and parameters can be set with the students as to the breadth and depth the wiki will have. Erroneous, flippant, or caustic postings can easily be removed, with content reverting back to its previous state.
Security on a wiki is not as much of a problem as other collaborative tools because the users are not required to register. There is no personal information, usernames, or passwords to be compromised. If desired, the wiki can be made private, requiring a password to read and/or to post, but individual accounts are not required.
Software for wikis is readily available. I use the open-source pmWiki software, which is php-based and runs on any Internet-connected web server that can run php. Alternatively, if you don't have your own server, you can set up a wiki on one of a variety of available websites such as pbWiki. You set up a wiki account and then give your students the username and password to access the account.
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Introduction
Tools and Links
for Further Learning
There are many ways to apply a wiki to a classroom (virtual or real) environment. Here are some that I have found useful:
Encourage students to add content they have found outside of the text or classroom discussion, but which is related to the course
Ask students to add content to the wiki that is related to issues discussed in the course. This can be reference material, explanation, definitions, or appropriate web links.
The instructor can create a skeleton of topics and have students fill in the detail. This can be done on a unit-by-unit basis or throughout the term.
Students can be encouraged to add material to the wiki such that the wiki will become a study guide for exams or projects
In a course with technical material, the wiki can be a repository for technical documentation that would supplement the text and other readily available material. For example, in a programming course the wiki could be used to document programming functions, keywords, or algorithms.
Create multiple wikis and divide students into groups with each group having a topic around which their wiki will be created.
To be of use as a collaborative tool in a learning community, the wiki should be primarily student-centered and the content should primarily be student-generated. That is not to say that the instructor can't add content, but more network connections are strengthened if the wiki contributions are primarily student-generated.
The instructor should monitor the wiki and make changes when completely erroneous material is placed there. An alternative to directly changing the material might be to place a note in a post saying that the "authoritative nature of this post has been determined to be suspect," and let students determine what is wrong and fix it.
Link to a sample wiki (actual wiki used in one of my courses)