What+is+a+Wiki?

What is a Wiki? Ellen Feig Edu 709: Assignment 2 Introduction: Recently, I became certified as a Wiki Educator Apprentice Level 2. In order to obtain this certification, I had to participate in a two month Wiki based course where I learned all the tools that an educator would need including creation of a wiki, editing a wiki page such as one on Wikipedia and using same in the classroom to create a collaborative learning environment. As the course came to an end, I was struck at the many elements of wikis that I had never realized existed and the positive implications they held for higher education. The importance of wikis was showcased again over the last weekend when I was asked to work on a project for the UN Standby Task Force/CrisisMappers concerning Japan where a wiki was used to hold all of the reported material. So what is a wiki? Developed in Portland, Oregon in 1995 by Ward Cunningham, a wiki is “a website that allows for creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or text editor.” (Wiki, 2011) Some of the prominent characteristics of a wiki are: · All users may edit any page and/or create new pages using a basic Web browser · Page link creation is easy and intuitive · User/visitor is active collaborator/creator in the development/creation of the wiki (Wiki, 2011) Editing wiki pages is a simple process; users have the ability to edit using plain text and the wiki keeps a record of the changes. Impact on Education: Reported in The Education Digest, a recent Babson Survey Research study of over 1000 faculty and college students found that over 80% use some form of social media or technology in their classroom; 52% of students reported using a wiki as a collaborative tool in at least one class. (Blankenship, 40) By enabling multiple authors to work on and edit one another’s material, a wiki creates a “workspace for collaborative projects” and digital discussions. (Flierl, 1) Such activities can occur at any time and in any place allowing students who are online to engage with those in the classroom, allowing students from different parts of the world to interact and allowing students to create a sense of community. Wikis have created “a democratic, accessible community of users responsible for its own content, supported by an open model of knowledge creation and communication.” (Ramos, 570) These living, breathing documents promote analytical thinking (students are more apt to think before placing content up knowing their peers will be the editor), teamwork (students are forced to engage in discussion) and research skills (students are asked to substantiate their work). In addition, wikis can be “instructor-managed or student-managed.” (Beldarrain, 142) Students who create their own wiki engage in their own form of “knowledge construction” as they move through the development, editing and finalization of their own wikis. For a distance student, a class wiki can create a sense of interaction that is missing, “building relationships between users” who never see one another. (Beldarrain, 142) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Issues and Implications: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">At my academic institution, the policy is quite strict; students are not allowed to use wikis as sources for their final research papers due to the possible inaccuracy of the information. This issue, one of security and authenticity, is the biggest issue faced by educators when using a wiki. Due to the fact that any user can act as editor, information can easily be changed and such changes, if not monitored, can remain until someone notices such. (Wiki, 2011) Another issue is one of ownership – with so many people editing the same document, who is the actual owner of the final piece? Currently, I am involved with Wiki Educator’s Open Source Licensing project which is focusing on this exact issue in conjunction with Creative Commons (an open content licensing entity). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">While there are clearly issues to overcome, these can be easily addressed through a set of clear, detailed rules that are given to students before they use the wiki for the first time. Rules could include type of material to place on the wiki, how to edit one another’s pages and how to link to outside content that may have copyright regulations attached. In addition, educators can limit a student’s access and define which groups work on which projects. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Wikis can be used in the classroom to: · <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Host lesson modules, resources and lectures · <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Host student portfolios including written and visual work · <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Host a class created glossary of terms · <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Host experiments and reports <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">(Wetzel, 2009) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">The future: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">My current work on the open source project is one example of how wikis can be used to allow people all over the world to access educational material and to comment on same. The inevitable goal of the project is to create the first wiki based online university that is open sourced; it is incredible to imagine people from all over the globe working on the same material, editing same and developing a truly collaborative work. As Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web stated in 1999, “I wanted the web to be what I can an interactive space where everybody can edit.” (Lamb, 2004) The wiki allows for exactly that.

=<span style="color: #365f91; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 24pt 0in 0pt;">Works Cited = <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 3.75pt 24pt; text-indent: -24pt;">Beldarrain, Yoany. (2006). Distance Education Trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. //Distance Education,// //27//(2), 139-153. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1228071561). <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Blankenship, M. (2011, March). How Social Media Can and Should Impact Higher Education. //The Education// <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">//Digest,// <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> //76// (7), 39-42. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID: 2253484511 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 24pt; text-indent: -24pt;">Flierl, R., & Fowler, H. (2007). Educational Uses of Blogs and Wikis. //Phi Delta Kappan,// //89//(3), 0_3. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1387610161). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Lamb, B. (2004, September/October). //Wide Open Spaces: Wiki or Not.// Retrieved March 16, 2011, from <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Educause Review: http://www.educause/edu/EDUCAUSE+Review <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 24pt; text-indent: -24pt;">Ramos, Miguel & Paul S. Piper. (2006). Letting the grass grow: grassroots information on blogs and wikis. //Reference Services Review,// //34//(4), 570-574. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1168367551). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Wetzel, D. (2009, May 11). //Tips for Using Wikis for Teaching and Learning.// Retrieved <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;">March 16, 2011, from Suite 101: http://www.suite101.com/content/tips-for-using-wikis-for-teaching-and-learning//Wiki.// (2011). Retrieved March 16, 2011, from Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki