Emerging Technologies in Education -Wiki

Wiki is a collaborative website where users can edit and help to build a safe and secure page based on a common interest.

PBwiki is an easy to use wiki where; files (documents, videos etc.) can be easily shared amongst users; others can be added quickly to a project; notifications can be emailed to everyone to keep them up to date; the moderator can set access controls for pages and folders and monitor who made changes and reverse changes if needed. With PBwiki users can tag a conversation so that they can track answers to a posed question and search for a topic or issue that may have been discussed across pages just by the search of a word. Also, wiki automatically backs up your information.

Advantages for usage in the classroom:

• Keeps student engaged outside the classroom.


• Students are accountable for the changes they make.


• Calenders, newsletters, and assignmnts can be used to keep class up to date.


• Student's work can be linked to classmates work and as a group can collaborate on a project.


• Students can interact with other students internationally.


• Educators can post curriculum and receive feedback instantly regarding revisions.

I would incorporate wiki into the classroom by giving an introduction and demonstration to wiki at the beginning of a course and post due dates, course curriculum, RSS feeds (news & updates relating to the course), and place the class in groups surrounding certain topics.

Disadvantages:

• Security/Safety issues.


• Needs to be managed.


• Moderator has alot of labour.


• Combating ("Copy & paste").


• Keep wiki simple for editors.


• Simple wiki's do not track changes.


• Trust users to provide reliable content.


• Strong participation is expected.

If our education system can incorporate wiki into the classroom, where a thread of a discussion can be tagged and a topic being discussed can be found with the search of one word, then it will make it easier for the student and the instructor to follow the topic of interest.

References:

PBwiki. (2008). Simple, Secure, Collaborative: Create your own wiki in 60s. Retrieved on October 3, 2008 from http://pbwiki.com/

De Nys, J. (2008). Using wikis and blogs in education. Retrieved on Oct 4, 2008 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/2451263/Using-wikis-and-blogs-in-education