Week 3--Wikis

"Wiki"

From an educators standpoint, I like being able to access and share information readily. However, I find some negative aspects in allowing my students to be able to update content as quickly and easily as I can. As most educators would probably agree, the need of accurate information is very important.

My first experience at using a Wiki was during another grad class. It was a group assignment. The assignment was to create a budget for a library. As a group we were responsible to prepare a written budget which contrasts current per pupil expenditures--which we were given. The assignment had to be completed using a Wiki. At first I thought there was no way I could do this....I had no idea what a Wiki was or what to do with one! One of my group members thankfully got things started. She set up the Wiki by choosing a name and a basic layout. She then sent the rest of the group members an e-mail inviting us to join the Wiki. The link to our Wiki is/was http://threeonabudget.wetpaint.com/ (I am not sure if it is still accessible). I was amazed that it was sooo EASY to do. As we logged on and added or made changes to the budget, each of us knew who was posting. It was useful for our professor too. She was able to access our Wiki and see just how much each of us was contributing. This is a major bonus because you do not always know if everyone is contributing, or pulling their weight like they should. Hendron text states that Wikis come into play whenever people need to share access to information quickly, and to share responsibility for creating and updating that content. This is exactly what my group was doing. When you set up your Wiki you can make it so that only people you invite can add or make changes to items. In Chapter 2, I also learned that by requiring a sign-in several things happen. "It tells us who last made changes: but more importantly, it enables us to track use of the Wiki and all content by that particular author."(Hendron 41) I am happy to say that my group was fantastic and we received an "A" on our budget.
I had to partner-up for a database course last spring. We were constantly e-mailing each other back and forth back and forth...sending enormous attachments to one another that were filling up our in-boxes. It had us very frustrated! We approached the professor and asked if we could set up a Wiki for our next assignment. She was thrilled by our idea. She suggested it to the other groups in our class. I am not sure if anyone else used one or not. I am glad that we did. I am also glad that I had the budget project before that one and knew what I was doing!
I feel like a "Wiki" pro now!!

I want to say that I love Wikipedia. I know that many educators have issues with wikipedia. I think that it would be a good learning tool for students. They do not have to use the information that they find on wikipedia for term papers. Part of their assignment could be to compare the information that they find on wikipedia to other sources. Just because the information can be edited by many people does not mean that it is wrong information.
How do you feel about Wikipedia?
Have you used it?
Have you ever made changes or added to a page?

Hendron, J. G. (2008). RSS for educators: Blogs, newsfeeds, podcasts, and wikis in the classroom. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.