What's In a Wiki?

Hang Ten Dude!

The word “wiki” arrives on the Internet shoreline riding a surfboard, fresh off a huge swell in the Pacific Ocean.  Wiki has come all the way from Hawaii, where its origins are alliterative and mean “quick”. He joins the ranks of others in the land of Internet vocabulary such as podcast and blog.

Wikis are basically web pages that can be accessed and edited by many users at once in real time. It is especially popular because users do not have to download any software or learn a new program-they only need an Internet connection and a web browser.

While wikis can make communication and collaboration easier for some users, this type of open editing can pose harm. For instance, users can accidentally delete content or a random user can change information on a wiki at any time. Certain safety features such as making a wiki public, but not editable for everyone, is a step that can ensure the security and authority of the wiki.

Educational Uses/Media Center Uses

Even though wikis have been available since the mid-1990s, they have not been in the educational spotlight for many years. In their initial creation, wikis were more catered to business meeting agendas and minutes, presentations, etc. However, considering the origins of the wiki, it is hard to keep the island out of the ol’ island boy, and soon more casual uses for wikis were being implemented.

Students can complete group projects using wikis as it promotes equal collaboration efforts on each student’s part. Teachers can easily access the wiki at any point to give feedback instantly, evaluate for understanding, and assess informally. I can see where creating wikis, much like creating podcasts or blogs, can actually motivate students to really focus on their work because it seems so much more “public” than simply turning in a piece of paper only a teacher will read. By requiring “wiki work” in a classroom setting, students will be exposed to the skills necessary to be successful in the world of technology and the Internet.

The media center should serve as the technical hub in any school, and a media center wiki is the appropriate vehicle to provide easy access to students, teachers, parents, etc. Media center wikis such as the Apalachee High School Media Center’s Wiki allows users to browse several links pertaining to the services provided via the media center such as GALILEO, World Cat, GA Pines, etc. One feature I found to be particularly interesting was the Title Shots bar on the left side of the wiki which showcases a few books from the library’s collection. It is powered by Library Thing and would encourage students to click on a book to explore it further then go check it out.  Students and teachers are also invited to join the wiki and add helpful links or showcase great work.

Coming Soon: Literary Circles for Macbeth

I have created a handful of wikis over the last year or so, but I have never thought about how to utilize them in my classroom. However, after reading about the educational uses of wikis, I had an epiphany. My current English Literature Honors classes are reading Macbeth and employing the use of literary circles. It has been a chore getting all of their notes together and making copies for distribution, let alone disheartening to see when one group member does not hold up his or her end of the bargain (as is with all group work settings). So, I am going to translate their work in literary circles to a wiki format. I will update my post in a few days to reflect on this change. Wish me luck!


Update on Literary Circles:
Overall, the students were surprised at how easy Wikispaces and the concept of a wiki was to grasp. I was met with a lot of grumbles at first, but it turned out rather well considering this was an idea I sprung on them kind of last minute. There were a couple of students who did not quite understand how to join a wiki that was already created by their group, but I'll just call that a learning curve. All in all this is an assignment I want to try again in the future.