What differentiates social software tools from other forms of computer-mediated communication is that they enable communication between people beyond the classroom and provide new ways for creating and sharing information. The notion behind many of the tools that characterize Web 2.0 is that of community gains, i.e. users benefit from each other in the spirit of ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. Wikis are possibly the social software tool that best represents the fact that the greater the user base, the greater the potential for real knowledge construction, Wikipedia being the most well known example.
Wikis, like other social software tools such as blogs, are being used more and more in educational settings. This is taking place at the same time that “educational agendas are shifting to address ideas about how we can create personalized and collaborative knowledge spaces, where learners can access people and knowledge in ways that encourage creative and reflective learning practices that extend beyond the boundaries of the school and the limits of formal education” (Owen et al, 2006)
We now live in a global knowledge-based, networked economy where information proves power. If you subscribe to this notion then in this context students will “need to have attained skills in collaborative and creative project-based work and to have developed critical, reflective practices” (Bruns & Humphreys, 2005). With that in mind, Wikis are ideal tool for helping students achieve these skills. In addition they afford the following:
– Anyone can edit.
– Easy to use and learn.
– Are instantaneous so there is no need to wait for a publisher to create a new edition or update information.
– People located in different parts of the world can work on the same document.
– Keeps track of every edit made and it’s a simple process to revert back to a previous version of an article.
– Helps widen access to the power of web publishing to non-technical users.
– Have no predetermined structure – consequently it is a flexible tool that can be used for a wide range of applications.
– Have a range of open source options to choose from so licensing costs are never an issue.
After researching some core affordances of modern wiki systems it became apparent that all good wiki’s share similar characteristics that make them ideal candidates for educational purposes:
1. Editable:
Most people would agree that making a wiki page assessable to everyone involved in an activity, being able to make changes to it quickly and easy is central to it’s survival. In the past when web 2.0 was growing, these core characteristics tended to distinguish wiki from other kinds of dynamic websites. This is not as much the case today. Weebly.com is a good example of how standard websites are now emulating core design characteristics initially used in wikis. Be that as it may, for most people looking to edit and collaborate on a website, their common toolkit includes an FTP program, access to a hosting provider, and knowledge to CSS and HTML. This is not the case with wikis since their design model is based the separation of content and design; much like the CMS (content management systems used today ie: WordPress, Blogger, etc..) Because wiki content is configured to be edited quickly and easily, users find themselves comfortably editing on the fly. For me, I found that I was able to make many edits to my assignment via my mobile phone, ipad, and laptop. This provided me the flexibility to edit ‘on the go’ and afforded me the opportunity focus on content rather than design.
2. Markable:
I like the ability to apply formatting options to my content on my wiki assignment. Creating bolded headings, structured tables, italicized quotes, and embedded media in the form of images and video afforded me the opportunity to create engaging content that would enhance learning about my topic for any other student reading. Be that as it may, I did find the markup HTML options used for our MediaWiki very limited to the options you can use in a standard website design. On many occasions I would have liked to embed a PadLet or Prezi into my Wiki but based on my research I do believe most standard embedding options did not work.
3. Versionable:
Probably the most important characteristic of wiki’s that you never see in blogs or web design is the option to revert back to a previous version. This has proved invaluable especially if you are dealing with multiple authors coming from different perspectives and backgrounds. This collaborative authorship option affords for people to revert back to previous versions if people make mistakes and would assure any new wiki user with more confidence when first starting out. What I really like about this feature is that wiki editors can also label a specific version with a summary of what was changed in that version giving rise to edit summaries found in the article history list. This can prove very helpful when a new author takes over an article and would like to find out the direction from the previous author. With that in mind, one must also conclude that having multiple versions of a topic can provide invaluable knowledge of the complete development of that topic. Sometimes hundreds of editors are working simultaneously to add details, references, information sources, quotes, and corrections about current world events. Social scientists, cultural anthropologists, and philosophers have noticed, for instance, that some Wikipedia articles end up becoming a focal point of current information whose speed and currency is unmatched, even by news organizations.
4. Accountable:
In order to make a change to most reputable wiki’s you need to login. That login information is logged and saved and so if you make a catastrophic change to something you can be held accountable. Be that as it may, in most modern wikis you also have the opportunity to conceal your real name with a nickname giving people the anonymity they might want.
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