Week 3 Reflection on 'Wikis'

This week as part of the Learning Engagement for the course I have created a Wiki. A Wiki is an online space where users and guests can edit, modify, add and remove information with intuitive editing tools (Fasso, 2013). A Wiki is therefore not a secure page that only the creator of the page can edit. Anyone who accesses the page can edit anything on the page. As you can imagine, this could lead to a lot of problems in an education setting if students do not follow appropriate online rules and etiquette. Although, any changes can be undone, it is still an annoyance for those who wish to use a Wiki properly. I think that Wikis are a good way to organise information. For example, in a HPE class you may ask the class; "What are the most important physical aspects in a game of touch football eg. speed, endurance, power. ?? By using a Wiki for this task, students are able to contribute their own ideas to one space used by the entire class. Students are able to develop new ideas by using information which has been provided by other students, therefore I think that Wikis would be most useful for a group project or assignment. The video which I have embedded below is an example of how one teacher has used wikis in her classroom...





The following PMI table shows the positives and negatives of using a Wiki for learning purposes.

Positive	Minus	Interesting
·         Encourages learner-based learning ·         Allows students to get ideas from their peers ·         When used properly, allows for information to be very well organised ·         Ideal for group work and assignments ·         Allows all students in the class to contribute ideas	·         Anyone can edit information on a page ·         Could cause problems if not used appropriately ·         Can become messy if not set out well	·         Teacher plays the role of 'facilitator' in learning

It is important when setting up a Wiki that as a teacher, you remember that it will be your students, not you who use the page. Therefore you must ensure to set up the page to be user friendly. In Week 2 I enjoyed using the mobile phones wiki, however the information on this page was all over the place and quite difficult to use at times. As a teacher, you would also want to ensure that you establish to your students the expectations of them using a Wiki and set out what is appropriate online behaviour. I definitely think that Wikis do have a place in the 21st century classroom as they encourage learners to think for themselves and allow students a place where they can gain a lot of great information from their peers.

References

Fasso, W. (2013). Digital tool 2: Wikis for Collaborative Learning. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDED20491 ICTs for Learning Design, http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/pluginfile.php/407928/mod_page/content/8/wikis.html