“A wiki is a Web page that can be viewed and modified by any- body with a Web browser and access to the Internet. This means that any visitor to the wiki can change its content if they desire. While the potential for mischief exists, wikis can be surprisingly robust, open-ended, collaborative group sites.”
- What experiences have you had with wikis?
My experience with wikis is very minimal. I do not know much about them, although I have used Wikipedia for a number of searches and relevant information on certain topics. This would be the extent of my familiarity with wikis. Other than utilizing them as a search engine on occasion, I have already learned so much from the videos and assigned readings regarding the “how to” on creating and editing such tools.
- What potential uses do you see for wikis in today’s classrooms?
In today’s classroom, I could foresee the usage of wikis being enticing because of their simplicity and collaborative learning style. With the direct and immediate access to knowledge and information, students will thrive on the other side of how information is gathered and modified over time. With the usage of links, photographs, videos and other rich media included in the text-based content, students will be able to navigate and grasp a deeper understanding all from one area. Perhaps the most attractive facet of wikis in the classroom would be to edit and curate the information over time. I could see this being used more in the high school age range and would be a great opportunity for them to dive into the realm of collaborative learning.
- What do you think would be the advantages/disadvantages of using wikis with students?
Just as every idea has its advantages and disadvantages, wikis have several positive attributes as well as some down sides. Advantages of this tool would be to help students to collaborate on topics and enforce their level of interpretation on a topic. They could be both helpful and dangerous in that their information is always changing and being updated. Because of this, some information may be questionable in its reliability. However, with students creating their own wikis, they would be able to edit and modify text/pictures into a document that flows naturally as one voice. Although the final product of a wiki should appear to be one voice, they are written by many. Therefore, both an advantage and disadvantage is that the point of view is always collective. Furthermore, the perspective on and purpose behind using wikis with students could be biased. I would advise against using them as reliable sources but think it is a fascinating tool to help students develop and cultivate their thoughts over time in a group setting.
Jacquelyn Marshall 
I completely agree with you on how wikis can be both helpful yet dangerous at the same time because of the inconsistencies on the webpage. Students can easily get mislead and confused with false information if the page is not up to date. However, in the classroom when it comes to group projects and collaborating notes from the textbook, wikis can be a very useful tool. Good points!
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I agree with you about wikis and how they can be useful, but can have reliability issues. I liked your video link! Funny that I chose the same one! I think that wikis do serve a purpose in the classroom and using for collaboration is what seems to be it’s current purpose rather than as a reliable research device.
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Great Post! I especially enjoyed your Wiki in plain English clip. I liked how it broke down the purpose of wikis and how useful it can be. I also agree that wikis are a great learning tool for students to collaborate and utilize the information in order to build upon topics. Like most projects, wikis are no exception to the concept of “accountability” when collaborating in a group. Since the information is constantly changing, and evolving, students as well as teachers who implement wikis within their curriculum need to be accountable for what they edit. As a teacher, I would encourage students to always double check each other’s sources, or check with the teacher if someone in the group questions its reliability. I think wikis can be a direct reflection of the groups participation, as it can only be as successful as the groups efforts.
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I like your video about wikis in plain English. It explains how we can use wikis in our own group projects and how we can use wikis with our students. It is a simple video that can be used in the classroom too to explain to the students what you expect when you create the wikis in the classroom. I am going to save this video for future use.
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