Anyone who has done a search on the
internet has surely encountered Wikipedia. Even the youngest of students are familiar
with Wikipedia, yet most have been warned by their teachers that the
information found in Wikipedia may or may not be accurate. At one time, it was
a scary thought to realize that anyone, yes anyone, could get on Wikipedia, and
alter the information found there. However, the longer Wikipedia has been
around, the more we realize that its information is often accurate. In fact, I
would be presumptuous enough to say that it is rare to find misinformation
within its parameters. How can this be? I believe that the answer is simple. So
many people visit Wikipedia, that even if someone did enter faulty information
into its database, it would not be long before someone came along and corrected
or updated that information.
Wikipedia was created back in 2001,
so it has been available for about thirteen years. Though certainly the most
well-known wiki in existence, it is definitely not the only wiki floating
around in cyberspace for us to discover and even edit. So what exactly is a
wiki?
The concept of a wiki is simple,
yet very effective. A wiki is a place
where people can collaborate online at different times, or simultaneously. They
are relatively simple to use, and can be accessed anywhere that there is an
internet connection. I like the definition that Educause Learning Initiative
gives wikis in its article, 7 Things
You Should Know About Wikis. They state that a wiki is “a database
created by a group rather than an individual”, which is a great way to look at
one.
Many schools and universities are
using wikis as creative ways for students to build community within a class,
encourage cooperative learning, and allow students to use higher order thinking
skills. Many media centers are using wikis to keep their patrons “in the know”
about what is going on in their school, community, and the world, as well as to
where and how to find information about a variety of topics.
I have two concerns about wikis.
First, it does appear that many wikis are simply storehouses of information,
which was not really the original intent of the wiki. Second, when first
created, wikis were touted for their “user friendliness” and simplicity.
However, since 2001, technology has exploded, and web 2.0 tools seem to appear
on a daily basis. There are so many venues for creating websites
collaboratively, that I think wikis are almost outdated. Many other tools seem
easier to manipulate than wikis, and there are several tools that are much more
graphic and design friendly. Weeblys, for instance, can be created
individually, or collaboratively, and are very user friendly, and are much more
appealing, in my opinion.
While I do not think that anything
will come close to rivaling Wikipedia anytime soon, I do fear that wikis are
going to be left by the wayside as we embrace new tools for working
collaboratively and sharing information. Yes, keeping up is a challenge, but
isn’t it exhilarating to be a part of the exploding world of technology?
Hi Barb!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments and thoughts on Wikis. I, too, agree with you and think that Wikis are becoming outdated. Last semester, I had to create a Wiki page with a group of people and it was somewhat of a headache, due to formatting issues and making sure the content was in the correct place.
I'm sure you are familiar with the Weebly site that Dr. Cooper uses a lot and, personally, I enjoy using it. Last semester, we had an assignment where we could use the Weebly and overall it's a much more concise, nicer formatting site. Yes, it also has its drawbacks, like it's not as multiple-user friendly as Wiki, but I think it produces a better product.
Hi Barb,
ReplyDeleteYour blog post dispelled some notions I had on wikis! First, you wrote that a wiki is “a database created by a group rather than an individual”, Funny, I thought it was the opposite! The way I have the most experience using them is as a Pathfinder where I create a database and share it with a group, rather than the other way around. Second, I'm just learning about them. You say they are already heading to outdated! Wowza-technology is sometimes hard to keep up with. I am vaguely aware of other similar, collarborative tools that may be better serving to collaborative groups. I know that all my kids teachers are using Edmodo and that seems to serve the same purposes of being able to chat, share information, post, etc. Thanks for opening my eyes!
I’m right there with you, Barb! Apart from Wikipedia, many wikis that I stumble upon seem to be, for the most part, abandoned. (Cue chirping crickets.) While I believe they can be useful for collaboration, they do have their drawbacks. From personal experience, it is easy to add information, but formatting can be a headache. Cohesiveness can suffer. Only one person can edit at a time. And it’s just plain hard to make wikis visually appealing.
ReplyDeleteYou’re right - there are other ways to collaborate on the web. I hadn’t given it much thought, but mentioning online collaboration today is more likely to get a response of a Google tool than a wiki. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
I did not realize Wikipedia had been around for that long. I only discovered a few years ago and was apprehensive once I learned it could be altered by others, but you make a good point that now people will go an correct the information. And most of the stuff on the site is accurate. I totally agree with you that there are other means of collaboration on the Internet than using just wikis. In my experience, I've found them to be not that easy to use, but that may just be me.
ReplyDeleteThe usage in universities is definitely on the rise like you mentioned, but for some of us older students that haven't been in school for a while, the idea of wikis was terrifying and still kind of is for me. But it is one of things that if I'm going to be in the media center, I will need to be aware of and try to benefit from.
Thanks for you input about wikis!
Are wikis like a one hit wonder?? Especially since they came out in the 90's. Technology does change so quickly and there are other programs out there that are being used to share and create collaboratively, such as googledoc. I can't believe that I have never really used a wiki until this class! I think wikis are something that if revisited could be made popular again, I know that UWG certainly has seen an interest in them with their online learning programs. It would take a lot of organization to use an active wiki in the media center but I could see how it could be used similar to a blog for promoting different things and events.
ReplyDelete