Wiki: Fill in the Blanks

After reading about Wikis on the Educause website, I discovered somethings that I did not yet know about. First, the way the article compared Wikis to the "original internet" was interesting to me. I remember when I first got on the internet and spoke to people from other countries. I was amazed. So this comparison sparked some interest in me. Wikis are a way for people to collaboratively work on a project.

Second, there are a variety of ways to use a Wiki. I can think of many different ways to use it in my classroom. At the end of each school year, my students do a study of Fairy Tales. I can see us using a Wiki by taking notes on all the fairy tales we read. One page could be devoted to just Jack and the Beanstalk. Another page could just be devoted to Cinderella. Students could take notes about they have learned. Another way we could use it, would be to peer edit each other's writing. It would be great to have students collaboratively work on a piece of writing as well.

It seems that some people are put off by Wikis because anyone can change the content of what is on the website. This is understandable. The article talked about how Wikis are usually a safe community where people protect what other people have written.

Wikis are often not visually attractive. The coding that is used is very basic. But I can see how this can be a good thing. If people aren't spending all their time on appearance, they are working on the "meat" of the Wiki. That can actually make it of higher quality.