Wikis in the classroom

Martina Eggerking,

Mareike Gößmann,

Christine Natzel

Wikis in the classroom2

Contents

1. What is a Wiki?

2. How to wiki?

3. Why do we wiki?

4. How to teach and learn with Wikis?

5. Wikis in action

6. How to create your own Wiki?

7. Bibliography

Wikis in the classroom3

1. What is a Wiki?

Hawaiian „wiki-wiki“ (=quick) Anyone can edit anything anytime (social network) Open, collaborative, community websites First wiki: Ward Cunningham in 1995 Wikipedia (attempt: free online encyclopedia) Used in different contexts Concept: „everyone together is smarter than anyone

alone“

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1. What is a Wiki?

WIKIEverybody reads, everybody writes

INTERNETEverybody reads,

few write

E-MAILSpecific readers,specific writers

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1. Example: Tsunami

First post: nine hours after the event (76 words) 24 hours later: edited more than 400 times (3000

words) 48 hours later: edited more than 1200 times (6500

words) Six months after the event: edited more than 7000

times (around 7200 words)

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2. How to wiki?

Need: standard web browser Every page: „edit page“, „save“ Interconnected hyperlinks Page history Large and open / small and closed

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3. Why do we wiki?

Easy and mostly free Possibility to reverse back Volunteer system administrators Writer and audience become one (collaboration) Social interaction, social construct dynamic „Problem“: reliability But: people learn to negotiate

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4. How to teach and learn with Wikis?

“Wikis are one of the powerful teaching and

learning tools that are currently used in some

schools and universities, which allows teachers

and learners to maximize the potential of print

by utilizing print in its electronic or digital form.”

(Ferris and Wider, 2006)

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4. Pedagogical value

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4. Classroom usage

Writing lesson summariescollaboration of notes/textbooks

Student group projects, research projects or assignments

On-line pen pals Student created study

guides

Data collection Student Portfolios

Collaboration between teachers

School or class newspapers Storytelling

Wikis in the classroom11 http://www.prowiki2.org/sool/wiki.cgi

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4. Advantages

Simple and free use Durable usage Runs on older computers and on slower internet Fast learning of technical skills Simultaneous editing Knowledge transfer High flexibility Improves media and reading competences Improves responsibility Breeding experts Social e-learning Motivation Control over participation

Successful learning

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4. Disadvantages

Explicit structure and instructions for the teacher are missing

Technical challenges Wrong postings in form

and content Confusing Wikis

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4. Wiki rules:

Members and permissions Wiki etiquette/student vandalism (wiki vandalism):

- Deletion of legitimate information

- Insertion of nonsense or irrelevant content

- Addition of unwanted commercial links (spam)

- Policy violations specific to that wiki

Vandals are blocked by username or IP address when they are being deliberately destructive.

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4. Problems with Wikis:

Student online safety issues Copyright violations Quality and reliability of wikis Lack of Internet access Appropriate class size More student autonomy

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4. Recent researches

Application of Wikis in the classroom has great potential Promote students’ active learning process Improve students’ critical thinking skills and high level learning

skills development→ Students have greatly increased interaction with the textbook in

the learning process and they improved their technology skills.

But: Only a few research studies have been conducted. The potential benefits of Wiki usage have not yet been widely

recognized.

→ More research in the future is needed.

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4. Safety issues

Policies concerning publishing student work on the web:

Receive parental permission before students post their work

Only post the first name or let students use a pseudonym or avatar

Teaching students some internet safety rules

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7. Bibliography

Moskaliuk, Johannes. Konstruktion und Kommunikation von Wissen mit Wikis. Theorie und Praxis. Boizenburg: Hülsbusch, 2008.

Richardson, Willi. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, 2006.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Change_Issues_in_Curriculum_and_Instruction/Wikis_in_the_Classroom

http://www.prowiki2.org/glarnerschulen/wiki.cgi?WikiLehrmittel

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/wikis/

http://classroomtech.pbworks.com/WikiWiki