What+is+a+Wiki?

=What is “Wiki?” = = =

 Introduction
A wiki is a very simple tool, but one that is able to revolutionize the education business, especially for classes. Imagine back in the late 1990s, and students were assigned a group project. They would have to juggle schedules, get each other’s phone numbers, and arrange the work in a way that benefitted everyone. Now that wikis have been created, all of these can be done online. A wiki is simply a website that users can freely edit. It allows group members to edit each other’s work, post content, and contribute to a project. According to the wiki.org webpage, “Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself.”

Impact on Education
As stated previously, the impact on education is wide-ranging. Students are able to collaborate, without ever having juggle schedules. It allows for ideas to be shared across a wide range of people and places. All of this is a major benefit for education. Anytime ideas can be moved easily from one to another, and collaboration can take place more easily, education wins.

Issues and Implications
Some of the potential pitfalls of using wikis were outlined in an article on wikibooks.org. It talked about putting students on the sidelines who didn’t have access to computers, school districts not having updated technology use agreements on file, protecting students’ privacy on the Internet, etc. However, as schools (and classrooms in particular) begin to see the value in wikis in education, these issues will largely work themselves out. In fact, other than the issue of access at home, most of these can be solved with a strong attention to detail by the IT department. In 2006, SocialText launched an offline wiki, designed to improve access for all students, whether they have Internet at home or not.

The Future
In the future, I see wikis as a way for many teachers to operate their class. Students can post information and view/edit other students’ thoughts and ideas. They can also freely share all types of links and videos. For the teacher, curriculum development as well as many different types of professional development can be supported using wikis. The great thing about wikis is that they can be altered to accomplish almost any objective; therefore, their future is limitless!

Sources
Wiki: What is Wiki? [] Change Issues in Curriculum Instruction/Wikis in the Classroom [] The Interview: The State of Wikis in Education []