Welcome to the World of Wikis
If you’re a technology immigrant (like me) you may be unfamiliar with the possible uses of wiki, or for that matter what a wiki even is. Our textbook (Shelly, 82) defines a wiki as, “a collaborative web site that allows users to create, add to, modify, or delete the web site content via their web browser”. So basically, multiple users can access and change the website, unlike a blog, in which only one person is the author and editor.
In the realm of education, there are countless educational benefits to a wiki. Students can post their writing onto a wiki and have fellow classmates make comments, edits or corrections to help in the writing process. It’s the modern way to do peer editing! You could also use it as a space for each individual student to add their portion of a group project. This way all involved can view each others contributions and make comments. I think it would also be a great idea of the faculty at a given school or grade level. Teachers could share information, resources, and ideas with one another with nearly instant feedback. Two heads are better than one after all!
This week I logged on to www.wikispaces.com and began the process of creating my own wiki! I created an account and now have my own personal web address for my wiki. I found that this process was very user friendly. After creating the initial account a “Getting Started with Your Wiki” window popped up with directions and helpful hints on how to get started making your wiki, and how to get acquainted with the logistics of adding pages, content, and links. Whenever you want to change the text on a page you simply click the “edit” button and then type in a format similar to any word processor with a somewhat familiar editing tool bar across the top. I’m looking forward to diving in headfirst and beginning the creation of my own wiki!
Shelly, Cashman, Gunter, & Gunter. (2008). Integrating Technology and Digital Media
in the Classroom. United States: Course Technology.
