Before attending UWG, I had never used or even heard of a
wiki. I was introduced to wikis in
my courses here at UWG and have been really impressed at how well they
work! After having used wikis for
the past couple of years, I don’t know how anyone in college ever got by
without them!
Okay,
so before this assignment, I had used wikis on several different occasions but
I have to admit that I really didn’t know exactly how they worked. So, I’ll do my best to explain them. First, I’ll give you the basics. Wiki is a Hawaiian word for quick…..Ooo
– that makes me want to go quickly to Hawaii. Okay, back to what I was saying…Wikis first appeared in the
mid 1990s and were used by scientists and engineers to create knowledge
bases. They have been used by professionals
such as artists and writers to promote community involvement in their
interests. Wikis are a great way
to share information and collaborate.
They can be used by those of us who are not computer programmers and
also those who have had no formal software training. Does that make you feel a little better about using a
wiki? I hope so! I know it made me feel better!
Wikis
are, in essence, web pages that can be modified using a web browser. They allow for easy links to other
resources and the opportunity to display colorful pictures and even sounds and
movies. If you are really
technically savvy, you can create multimedia presentations and digital
stories. One person can create a
wiki and then anyone can go in and use the edit button to make changes. This gives everyone author and editor
privileges. Didn’t know you could
be an instant editor huh? The nice
thing is, they allow you to work on an assignment at any time or place that
offers an Internet connection.
Wikis are now used by many teachers to create a syllabus,
write a journal article, or edit a textbook. They allow students to collaborate with other students and
to create impressive portfolios.
The opportunities are endless!
The
most well-known and used wiki is Wikipedia. Although it is continually edited, it is said to be almost
as accurate as a printed encyclopedia.
I guess when you have a bunch of professionals working on something,
they are able to go in and change any information that may not be
accurate. Pretty impressive huh?
Do
wikis have their downfalls? Of
course! Didn’t you know that all
technology has its own set of problems? The biggest downfall is that it can be
easy for you to delete information if you’re not careful. This happened to me once on a group project. Some information that I had added to
the wiki was accidentally erased by another group member. Luckily, I had my information stored in
another location so it was an easy fix.
I would highly recommend saving your information somewhere else if you are
going to contribute to a wiki. In
fact, I would suggest that you tell other group members to do the same just in
case you accidentally erase theirs.
You also have to be careful to watch for those that might add
inappropriate content to a wiki.
But don’t worry as you can – the benefits far outweigh the
downfalls. Well, I’d love to
continue to chat about wikis, but now that I know just how powerful they are, I
think I’ll go create my own……
Christy,
ReplyDeleteI too didn’t know much about wikis until my classes at UWG both taught them to me and groups of students used them to share information for a project. I do believe that they definitely make collaboration and teamwork easier. As you mention in your blog, the need to save everything elsewhere is important, since you’re never quite sure of other team member’s technology abilities, and accidents do happen to all of us!
Isn’t it funny that the most well know wiki is now Wikipedia and it has grown into such a phenomenon and is considered almost as accurate as a printed encyclopedia. Upper grade students feel that it’s the only thing available to search and it sometimes takes considerable effort to get them to look in other databases to find information. I think if I provide a better lesson to explain and show the benefits/disadvantages of wikis, they would better understand the Wikipedia format. This might also make it easier for students to understand why it is blocked in our county schools.
Dear Christy,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that now I know where the term "wiki" comes from. The articles given to us by Dr. Cooper and your personal perspective with using them made me more excited to use them in class and in my future position as a School Library Media Specialist.
The numerous possibilities are certainly endless. The contributions from others make the end product so much richer since we all have our talents or intelligences that guide our learning patterns. There are those who would add music links and those who would add art (photographs, clip art, or digitized created art. Some would find the most scientific links to share and others who would post geographical information such as maps or interactive globe links.
I, too, agree that the benefits outweigh the downfalls. The AHS in Bartow County wiki has an accountability "charter" to make sure that anyone who joins understands proper etiquette concerning appropriateness of content and collaboration. "Keep(ing) it legal by citing work, respecting copyright and acknowledging the work of others" was listed to protect all members as they contribute.
In conclusion, as a professional educator and as student, I have the perspective that wikis seem to be a win-win situation!
-ASD
Wow! Who would have thought that wikis had been around since the 90's? Which makes me think about my daughter saying last week that something happened way back in the 1900's, and it was 1997 to be exact. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI'm still amazed at the fact that my first introduction to wikis occurred last semester, yet I mentioned it to a coworkers and he knew all about them was using one for his classes. He actually got me started using one for my teacher portfolio.
I am impressed at how often wikis are used in different fields, and I am hopeful to begin using them more in my own teaching. I, too,worry about monitoring it, but I think having a good acceptable use policy can go a long way.