chapter 4

Chapter 4: Wikis

Although I remember using a wiki a few years ago as part of a professional development offering at the Ahern, I haven’t used it since.  I realize now I didn’t have a clue as to its application or history.  This chapter helped me to put it all together.  Wiki is a Hawaiian word for short or quick.  It’s a site where anyone can edit anything.  The example is Wikipedia which is constantly updated and the natural question that arises is the reliability factor.  A 2007 study stated that experts in their related fields stated that 4 out of 5 entries were accurate.  I would think that today that would be even greater.

The benefit of this tool is that the process results in “collaborative construction of knowledge”.   There is a part of the application that allows users to seen when “changes were made, by whom, and what was changes”.   Wiki’s can also be linked to blogs.  The uses today have expanded to Wiktionary,  Wikinews,  Wikispecies, etc…Business have begun using them to manage their documents and information.  The application even has a discussion component that allows users to explain the reasoning behind their updates or changes.   Ideas for schools use of Wiki’s  included book reports, class notes, brainstorming, poetry, etc…There are free spaces for educators available at Wikispaces,  PBwiki  and WikiEngines.