Wikis

Wikis are a great way to collaborate and share information. One can open up a document as a web page, click edit, and add to the document, then save it as a web page again and post it for all to access. My government class used a wiki to share information about a debate that they had to prepare for. We had a wiki for the Pro argument and another for the Con argument. Students could add their research for whichever side they were debating. I thought the wikis were great for educational purposes because students can share information that their classmate may not have thought about. As a teacher, and administrator of our class wiki, I can see what individual students have contributed to the discussion.

• Wikis are great for brainstorming
• Wikis are convenient for students to work on their own time
• Collaboration is facilitated in one location
• Students are held accountable for what they post

However there are some draw backs to wikis. Due to the fact that many people have the ability to edit a wiki there may be information posted that is not correct or biased. I believe that if we teach students to analyze information with a critical mind and make sure there is another credible source wikis can be very successful in education. Another draw back we found is that only one person can edit a page at a time. If more then one student would like to contribute to the discussion at the same time he or she is not allowed to. We had problems initially with our wiki pages freezing because too many students were trying to edit them at once. When students realized that, they were able to wait and take turns.

• Only one person may edit a wiki at one time
• Information shared on wikis may not be accurate due to their collaborative nature