Taking on the next blogging topic, what are the pros and cons that Wikis
may bring for the adult learner?
As bloggings is
still new to me, I have enjoyed being able to not be as formal in my text and
thoughts as I would in a discussion board within an online class. The new topic
to “blog” about is our learning on the use of a using a Wiki. Well, of course this is a new form of technology
for me as well. I have learned some
great pros of how a Wiki could benefit me and other adult learners for educational purposes
as well as professional purposes. As shared in (King & Cox) and (West &
West) a Wiki is designed so that
a group of people can work on one document, collaboratively, which allows students
or co-workers in different states to work together on a project. This reduces
the amount of revised documents that are emailed back and forth. Everyone can
work directly in the document, edit, delete, and add additional information to
create the final, but still working document. Wikis can be password
protected so that one is working out on the World Wide Web, only those with the
passwords can contribute. If you do not use a password, you can set it up to
notify when someone has edited the Wiki page. Then you can go in and confirm changes are appropriate.
Another positive, you can set up a tracker on who posted, deleted and times and
dates all this happened. Which can be great for educational uses for the
instructor to grade who has contributed to the group work. (West & West)
also discuss how Wikis are also a great tool for group work as they are “asynchronous”
which is beneficial for those who need to work at their own pace at different
times.
Over the next few weeks, I will be working on a group project that requires us to use Wiki as our source. I hope to return blog about my experiences how this would benefit my work in teaching adult learners.
Tell me your thoughts about Wikis and your experiences?
References:
King & Cox: The Professors Guide to Taming Technology Ch. 8, pages 121-133
West & West: Using Wikis for Online Collaboration: The Power of the Read-Write Web
Additional link- https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/what-are-wikis-and-why-should-you-use-them--cms-19540
Starblogspot- Great minds think alike! I used this Wiki graphic on my blog too. I chose this graphic to illustrate the old adage "many hands makes light work" which relates to how wikis are a great online tool to promote learner collaboration.
ReplyDeleteYour blog does a great job of highlighting the privacy/security/password features offered by some wikis. I do think that this is a very important factor for educators to consider when deciding what type of wiki software to utilize.
I have limited experience with wikis, but wonder if wikis exist that allow easy transfer from private to public space. Learners may be able to get the best of both worlds by starting their group project in the private, pass-word protected space. This will provide the safety of posting unformed, individual ideas and allow the group to collaboratively shape and mold their ideas together into the polished final product. If desired for a sense of empowerment or voice, it would be neat if the group could decide to turn off the privacy function and share the knowledge in their polished wiki with the public.
What do you think? Did your research on wiki privacy/security result in any wiki platforms that allow this? In my own personal experience, I have only ever written wikis that are privately embedded within university LMS or private wiki linked to my Google Docs account.
Thanks for the feedback! I though this was a good image as it showed a group of people holding the word to show that it was for group and collabative work!!
DeleteThis is my first experince with Wikis as well, but I like the though of starting password protected and then moving out to the public eye for sharing of information and additional comments. I will have to do some additional research to see. I bet it would be fairly easy to do depending on the platform used.
Happy blogging and wiki working!!
Hi, Star,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog and I liked the way you highlighted the word "Wiki". I found that we focused on the same advantage of wikis which is building a collaborative environment among users. Also, I think the set up a password to protect wikis is a great solution for wiki users to ensure no one can edit or change their wiki, but if wiki becomes privet that means the outside audience cannot benefit from the information of this wiki that can be considered as a limitation.
"a Wiki is designed so that a group of people can work on one document, collaboratively, which allows students or co-workers in different states to work together on a project."
Do you think using wikis is useful for co-workers more than students? I would like to know your thoughts about this question.
Best,
Tariq Alshalan
Tariq,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback! I was trying to add a little more to the Blog to make it appealing for the reader.
As for your question, I think I see the benefit for both groups. However, I think that I would like to see the group work to be conducted in a password protected environment to be completed for the project/assignment before being put out in the public eye. I also think that there are some projects/information that could be beneficial to share that the public could benefit from, however, I just hate for a lot of hard work be washed down the drain for someone to go in and delete or add hateful messages or images.
What are your thoughts? Do you prefer one over the other? Even with you comment on "working collaboratively'?