So it has been an interesting week and I feel very behind in my postings. My husband is currently training in Virginia as a Quartermaster in the US Army. He has been there three weeks and this weekend, I got a chance to visit him for a four day weekend, which was great, but the last thing that was on my mind unfortunately was graduate school. Especially after the eight hour drive home this afternoon. However, now that I am back in town, I have a few thoughts that I would like to share. I am trying to begin pulling together my ideas about wikis.
Definition: “A wiki is a collaborative Website whose content can be edited by anyone who has access to it” (Boulos, Maramba, and Wheeler 2).
Examples: There are a lot of examples of wikis. Wikipedia (ww.wikipedia.org) is one of the most well known examples of a wiki; however there are many examples of teachers who are using wikis for education.
How to Use a Wiki in Education: A wiki can be used for a variety of purposes. The main use that I have explored is the use of wikis for student collaboration and group work. “Wikis can be used as a source for obtaining information and knowledge, and also as a method of virtual collaboration, e.g., to share dialogue and information among participants in group projects, or to allow learners to engage in learning with each other, using wikis as a collaborative environment to construct their knowledge or to be part of a virtual community of practice” (Boulos, Maramba, and Wheeler 2). Wikis can also be used to create classroom environments on the Internet or to create a space to display student work.
Benefits of Wikis: Wikis can stimulate and engage students in the collaborative process and in an activity that encourages the creation of knowledge and deeper understanding, “According to Jonassen et al. 'mindtools' act as cognitive reflection and amplification tools, aiding the construction of meaning, through the act of self-design of knowledge databases [55]. Wikis in particular, and blogs to a lesser extent, enable such activities, and actively involve learners in their own construction of knowledge” (Boulos, Maramba, and Wheeler 2).
Reference: http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1472-6920-6-41.pdf
I am going to continue to draw conclusions based on the information, I have presented throughout my previous blogs. My next blog will further explore the educational benefits of wikis and some of the drawbacks I have found to using wikis in a classroom environment.
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3 comments:
Thank you!... to both of you...you who stands beside and uplifts this man...and your husband who is willing to defend and protect my many freedoms.
BTSS (Back to School Stuff).....
You have clearly outlined some essential points of wiki’s. Speaking to the points of “How to use.." and "Benefits…” I think that we are just beginning to see some of the benefits and uses. Yes! We must actively involve learners. I believe that as educators we are going to have to do better by making students responsible for their own learning as well. They need to have solid critical thinking skills to be able to reflect on their own work and know tools to build on this. Training myself to change my way of doing things and my expectations for my students will be a big part of this as well.
I think when you have a chance to see your husband - you take all the time you need. Thank you for sacrificing so much for us. You and your husband are to be commended.
I enjoyed your wiki breakdown. I am learning myself here how to do the wiki, and I think your explanation is a good one.
Megan,
I think that was one of the best breakdowns of wikis since it was targeted specifically towards education! I think wikis will gain more popularity and importance in education among other fields soon and by starting your students off on early in this process will help them in future. I look forward to the next blog entry for the drawbacks... I seem to know only a couple but then again I biased like that :)
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