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As noted, wikis are characterized by a variety of unique and powerful information sharing and
collaboration features. In cooperative learning, students work in heterogeneous groups to support the learning of their individual members. Cooperative learning leads to positive interdependence of group members, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, and appropriate use of collaborative skills (Schaffert, Bischof, et al., 2006). Cooperative teams achieve higher levels of thought and retain information longer than students who do their work individually (Johnson and Johnson, 1986). The collaborative features of wikis make them particularly well suited for cooperative learning environments (Schaffert, Bischof, et al., 2006).
Wikis can be used to facilitate computer-supported collaborative learning, i.e., the development
of collaboration by means of technology to augment education and research (Augar, Raitman, &
Zhou, 2004). This enhances peer interaction and group work, and facilitates sharing and distributing knowledge and expertise among a community of learners (Lipponen, 2002). Wikis enhance asynchronous communication and cooperative learning among students, and promote cooperation rather than competition (De Pedro et al., 2006).
Collaborative learning becomes even more powerful when it takes place in the context of a community of practice. A community of practice consists of people engaged in collective learning in a shared domain. Thus, learning becomes a collaborative process of a group. Wikis can serve as a knowledge platform for a community of practice where members of the community can share their knowledge with the group, put up interesting pieces of information, work together, discuss issues, etc. (Schaffert, Bischof, et al., 2006). Wikis are characterized by some of the elements fundamental to a successful community of practice, including a virtual presence, a variety of interactions, easy participation, valuable content, connections to a broader subject field, personal and community identity and interaction, democratic participation, and evolution over time (Schwartz, Clark, Cossarin, & Rudolph, 2004).
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Wikis - Evoca
Wikis are one of many Web 2.0 components that can be used to enhance the learning process. A wiki is a web communication and collaboration tool that can be used to engage students in learning with others within a collaborative environment. This paper explains wiki usage, investigates its contribution to various learning paradigms, examines the current literature on wiki use in education, and suggests additional uses in teaching software engineering Chao, J. and Parker, K (2007).
Wiki is a major component of Web 2.0, the emergent generation of web tools and applications
(Adie, 2006). Web 2.0 has the potential to complement, enhance, and add new collaborative dimensions to the classroom. Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, and RSS feeds have been dubbed 'social software' because they are perceived as being especially connected, allowing users to develop Web content collaboratively and open to the public (Alexander, 2006). Social software offers a variety of unique and powerful information sharing and collaboration features, acting as cognitive reflection and amplification tools, and aiding the construction of meaning through the act of self-design of knowledge databases (Jonassen, Peck, & Wilson 1999). Wikis in particular actively involve learners in their own construction of knowledge (Boulos,Maramba, & Wheeler, 2006). Social software helps to realize the original vision of the Web as a space in which anyone can participate (Schaffert, Gruber, & Westenthaler, 2006). Web 2.0 tools are characterized by ease of use and rapidity of deployment, making possible powerful information sharing and straightforward collaboration (Boulos et al., 2006). Further, these tools afford the added advantage of reducing the technical skill required to use their features, allowing users to focus on the information exchange and collaborative tasks themselves without the distraction of a difficult technological environment (Kirkpatrick, 2006). Such 'transparent technologies' (Wheeler, Kelly, & Gale, 2005) let the user concentrate more on the learning task by seeing through the technology with which they are interacting.
(Adie, 2006). Web 2.0 has the potential to complement, enhance, and add new collaborative dimensions to the classroom. Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, and RSS feeds have been dubbed 'social software' because they are perceived as being especially connected, allowing users to develop Web content collaboratively and open to the public (Alexander, 2006). Social software offers a variety of unique and powerful information sharing and collaboration features, acting as cognitive reflection and amplification tools, and aiding the construction of meaning through the act of self-design of knowledge databases (Jonassen, Peck, & Wilson 1999). Wikis in particular actively involve learners in their own construction of knowledge (Boulos,Maramba, & Wheeler, 2006). Social software helps to realize the original vision of the Web as a space in which anyone can participate (Schaffert, Gruber, & Westenthaler, 2006). Web 2.0 tools are characterized by ease of use and rapidity of deployment, making possible powerful information sharing and straightforward collaboration (Boulos et al., 2006). Further, these tools afford the added advantage of reducing the technical skill required to use their features, allowing users to focus on the information exchange and collaborative tasks themselves without the distraction of a difficult technological environment (Kirkpatrick, 2006). Such 'transparent technologies' (Wheeler, Kelly, & Gale, 2005) let the user concentrate more on the learning task by seeing through the technology with which they are interacting.
The term 'wiki' is derived from the Hawaiian phrase, wiki-wiki, which means quick. A wiki is a collaborative web site whose content can be edited by visitors to the site, allowing users to easily cre- ate and edit web pages collaboratively (Chao, 2007). In essence, a wiki is a simplification of the process of creating HTML web pages in combination with a system that records each individual change that occurs over time, so that at any time a page can be forced to revert to any of its previous states. A wiki may also provide tools that allow the user community to monitor the constantly changing state of the wiki and discuss the issues that emerge. Some wikis restrict access to a group of members, allowing only members to edit page content although everyone may view it. Others allow completely unrestricted access, allowing anyone to both edit and view content (Olson, 2006). Wikis can be used as a source of information and knowledge, as well as a tool for collaborative authoring. Wikis allow visitors to engage in dialog and share information among participants in group projects, or to engage in learning with each other by using wikis as a collaborative environment in which to construct their knowledge (Boulos et al., 2006).
Cooperative/Collaborative Paradigm
As noted, wikis are characterized by a variety of unique and powerful information sharing and
collaboration features. In cooperative learning, students work in heterogeneous groups to support the learning of their individual members. Cooperative learning leads to positive interdependence of group members, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, and appropriate use of collaborative skills (Schaffert, Bischof, et al., 2006). Cooperative teams achieve higher levels of thought and retain information longer than students who do their work individually (Johnson and Johnson, 1986). The collaborative features of wikis make them particularly well suited for cooperative learning environments (Schaffert, Bischof, et al., 2006).
Wikis can be used to facilitate computer-supported collaborative learning, i.e., the development
of collaboration by means of technology to augment education and research (Augar, Raitman, &
Zhou, 2004). This enhances peer interaction and group work, and facilitates sharing and distributing knowledge and expertise among a community of learners (Lipponen, 2002). Wikis enhance asynchronous communication and cooperative learning among students, and promote cooperation rather than competition (De Pedro et al., 2006).
Collaborative learning becomes even more powerful when it takes place in the context of a community of practice. A community of practice consists of people engaged in collective learning in a shared domain. Thus, learning becomes a collaborative process of a group. Wikis can serve as a knowledge platform for a community of practice where members of the community can share their knowledge with the group, put up interesting pieces of information, work together, discuss issues, etc. (Schaffert, Bischof, et al., 2006). Wikis are characterized by some of the elements fundamental to a successful community of practice, including a virtual presence, a variety of interactions, easy participation, valuable content, connections to a broader subject field, personal and community identity and interaction, democratic participation, and evolution over time (Schwartz, Clark, Cossarin, & Rudolph, 2004).
Wikis and other emergent technologies are beginning to fill a gaping void in existing practice
(Lamb, 2004). They enable extremely rich, flexible collaborations that have positive psychological consequences for their participants and powerful competitive ones for their organizations (Evans and Wolf, 2005). Collaborative creativity promises to be a key business skill in upcoming years. Educational institutions can offer immense value to their students by familiarizing them with the simple technologies that make collaborative networks possible. Today’s students will not only manage business innovations of the future, but in many cases will drive them. Rather than being limited to today’s skills, students must learn the skills of the future. Educators need to teach what wikis and other social software may mean to business, not just as a phenomenon, but also as a skill (Evans, 2006). By incorporating wikis into the classroom, educators can better prepare students to make innovative uses of collaborative software tools.
Using Wikis in the School Library Media Center
One of the first, largest and most famous wikis is Wikipedia, a free collaboratively edited online encyclopedia to which you and your students can contribute. While there is much controverseyPew Internet & American Life Project. And on a typical day in the winter of 2007, 8% of online Americans consulted Wikipedia. surrounding the use of Wikipedia as a research tool, it is an excellent example of what can be done with a wiki! More than a third of American adult internet users (36%) consult the citizen-generated online encyclopedia Wikipedia, according to a 2007 nationwide survey by the
Google has also introduced a competitor to Wikipedia: Knol.
Wikis are also being used to create textbooks and books including some specificially for young people, for those who may benefit texts in simplified English, and for those who may need textbooks in other languages. There is a compendium of quotations at Wikiquote, a WiktionaryWikiversity with thousands of learning resources, and even WikiNews--news you can not only read, but edit and write! (free multi-language dictionary and thesaurus),
Wikis are being used successfully in classrooms from Kindergarten through graduate school! Here are some examples that are sure to generate some ideas for you and your teachers.
School library media specialists report that they are using wikis to:
- Learn about wikis and web design
- Teach about wikis and web design
- Provide reference materials
- Teach students about wikis
- Teach about "authority" in web and reference materials
- Teach about copyright and/or Creative Commons licensing
- Compare and contrast Wikipedia with other information sources
- Help students understand how reference materials are created
Five to Test Drive
- LISWiki Articles about library and information science you can read, write and/or edit.
- LibSuccess Wiki "A one-stop shop for great ideas and information for all types of librarians."
- LM_Net Wiki A place where library media specialists can share handouts, forms, presentations and ideas.
- Digital Bookends Tons of resources for school library media specialists!
- State Staffing Requirements for School Library Media Specialists What do different states say about the need for school library media specialists? A collaborative space for gathering that information.
More to Explore
- AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner A wiki is available to discuss the new AASL standards. (If you want to edit, the password is learner.) Participate!!
- ALA Professional Tips wiki, covering a wide range of topics for library workers in all types of libraries--filing rules, Second Life, standards, book awards, staff development, etc.
- ATN Reading Lists Over 1400 reading lists from All Together Now by theme, subject area, author and more. "By using wikispaces, the lists can be updated, added to, deleted from, corrected, etc. by librarians all over the world. How exciting is that!!"
- Great Book Stories A wiki that links to digital stories and book reviews.
- Information Fluency Wiki "information fluency meets Web 2.0" -- workshop materials from a variety of places
- Library Instruction Wiki Where librarians of all kinds can share all kinds of resources: handouts, tutorials, presentations and more.
- MHS Web A wiki where "staff, students, and parents can add web sites that are helpful for student academic success."
- National Educational Technology Standards for Students Wiki A discussion about ISTE's NETS*S standards and how they are being implemented.
- Plymouth Regional High School library chose a wiki as their delivery format for a Research Guide. The Guide provides research support, tools and strategies for Plymouth HS students and teachers.
- NWSA Library Media Center Wiki Created for and by students for Battle of the Books. Students can post questions, compare and contrast titles, summarize how the wiki has helped them with Battle of the Books, and report how Battle of the Books has helped them with reading.
- School Library Journal Summit 2007 Wiki Used before, during and after the summit for discussions
- School Library Media Wiki A wiki by and for Broward County (FL) library media specialists to share news and views, photos of displays and bulletin boards, successful ideas and more.
- SVMS Media Center Reading Recipes A wiki devoted to reading for this middle school.
- TeacherLibrarian Wiki A place for school library media specialists to share ideas and resources.
- Texas School Librarians' Wikispace Designed for school library media specialists in Texas, you'll find a wealth of good ideas, resources, and tools here no matter where you live and work.
- WMS Library Media Center Wiki (Woodstown Middle School) includes "Rabid Reader Reviews" of books by teachers and a Wiki Workshop outline and links used in a workshop to show teachers more about wikis and how they can be used in different subject areas.
- Wiki of Obsolete Skills (A-Z) Who needs to know how to use carbon paper anymore? How to dial a rotary phone . A fun wiki to list and explore more obsolete skills.
