Wikis

Wiki - a simple word for a powerful Web 2.0 tool. “Wikis are collaboratively authored,
searchable documents linked internally and externally.” (Morgan and Smith, 2008) “Collaboratively authored” is the key concept in the definition of a wiki. “The first wiki was created by Ward Cunningham in 1995, who was looking to design an easy authoring tool that might spur people to publish.” (Richardson, 2009) Considering the current number of wikis, not to mention the startling number of entries on Wikipedia, Mr. Cunningham was successful in his endeavor.

Another authoring tool on the web is blogs. I was initially confused by how writing a blog and writing on a wiki were different. “Wikis and blogs share much in common, but blog visitors simply add comments to the original content, whereas wikis allow visitors to change the content.” (Morgan and Smith, 2008) A blog is primarily focused on the ideas of the individual author. Discussion of the posted ideas occurs, however, collaboration does not usually occur on the original blog entries themselves.

The Common Craft Show on wikis (LeFever, 2007) clearly demonstrated the basics of this tool and its usefulness. Through coordination of a camping trip, the superiority of a wiki over email was shown. The importance of the three buttons “edit”, “save”, and “link” in the process of creating wiki entries was also highlighted.

After reading a few journal articles and viewing some wikis, I embarked on the creation of my own. A colleague has a class wiki on pbwiki and had extended an invitation for me to join via email. In order to do this, I filled out some basic information and then found that the site was quite user-friendly and was able to create my own using a link. I tried out some of the features and then for comparison sake, I also created a wiki at wikispaces.

The features at pbwiki and wikispaces are almost identical. The big difference being that pbwiki does not have a discussion link. A comprehensive list of these features, including a short explanation of each is located on these sites. As a teacher, I found the features that pertain to security were reassuring. “Access to all parts of a wiki can be controlled by the teacher. Changes in the wiki can be closely tracked and compared with earlier changes in terms of frequency and type of engagement.” (Morgan and Smith, 2008) The teacher is the administrator of the site and can give different access to those invited. For instance, pbwiki 2.0 allows the administrator to invite others as an administrator, editor, writer, or reader. Also, pages on the wiki can be either public or private. At this point in time, I have made my wikis private and therefore do not have a link to them in this blog entry.

Wikis are a valuable tool for classrooms and libraries. There are a plethora of ideas in which to incorporate the use of this tool when teaching. I was pleased but also chagrined to find that my “unique” ideas as to how to implement wikis in a school setting had, for the most part, already been done. These ideas included:
· Writer’s Workshop
· Literature Circles
· Book Clubs
· Mathematical Problem Solving
· Science Fair Projects
· Ancient Civilization Projects
· Student Portfolios

Keeping in mind that “[e]mphasis is placed on authoring content rather than simply viewing existing information” (Lamb and Johnson, 2007), I plan on creating the initial pages (framework) for the wikis and then leaving the rest for students to collaborate on as they share the knowledge and skills they acquire. For instance, the classroom wiki will have mathematical pages and website links for students. One of the pages will be problem solving. Students could work collaboratively to solve the problems a student or I post and share different strategies for finding the solution. Students will also be taught how to create their own pages and to add links.

“As we continue to move toward a world where everyone has access to ideas and where collaboration is the expectation rather than the exception, wikis can go a long way to teaching our students some very useful skills for their future.” (Richardson, 2009) It is imperative as educators to explore wikis, model their use, and teach our students how to utilize this powerful Web 2.0 tool.

References:

Bejun, Matthew M.. “Wikis in Libraries.” Information Technology and Libraries. Chicago: Sep 2007. Vol. 26, Iss. 3; pg. 26, 13 pgs

Bowlian, Amy. “A Wiki Gives a Worthy Book New Life.” School Library Journal. September 2008

Fredrick, Kathy. “Wiki-World.” School Library Media Activities Monthly. Baltimore: Dec 2007. Vol. 24, Iss. 4; pg. 45, 2 pgs

Lamb, Annette and Johnson, Larry. “An Information Skills Workout: Wikis and Collaborative Writing”. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Jun 2007. Vol. 34, Iss. 5; pg. 57, 4 pgs

Lamb, Annette and Johnson, Larry. “The Virtual Teacher-Librarian: Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Web Presence”. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Apr 2008. Vol. 35, Iss. 4; pg. 69, 4 pgs

McPherson, Keith. “Wikis and Student Writing.” Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Dec 2006. Vol. 34, Iss. 2; pg. 70, 4 pgs

Morgan, Brian and Smith, Richard D. “A Wiki for Classroom Writing.” The Reading Teacher. 2008. 62(1), pp. 80-82.

Richardson, Will. (2009) “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.” California: Corwin Press.