This presentation was developed by our team on EDIT 611 - Innovations in Distance Learning. Our assignment was to explore Wiki's in the context of education (K-12), higher education, and professional training.
2. Think. Learn. Succeed.
What is a Wiki
• Definition: “ A wiki is a web site that allows
users to add and update content on the site
using their own web browser.”
• The term “wiki” comes from the Hawaiian
phrase “wiki wiki” meaning “super fast.”
• Often listed as one member of the Web 2.0
family along with social networking, blogs,
and content-sharing sites like YouTube
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Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0
Web 1.0
•Static pages
•Visitor cannot
contribute to the content
•Proprietary software
Web 2.0
•Pages are always
changing
•Visitor can contribute
to or change content
•Open-source software
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Characteristics of a Wiki
• Anyone can change anything
• Simplified HTML
• MashedTogetherPageTitles allow markup-free
links across pages
• Never finished
• Content “cloning” (plagiarism) is accepted
practice in some wiki environments
• Users define how the process develops
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Components of a Wiki Page
•Logo
•Article Title
•Article Body
•Categories
•User Options
•Top Tabs
•Sidebar, which may
include:
• Navigation Menu
• Search Box
• Toolbox
• Language Menu
Example: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki
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How to Start Wiki-ing
• Put wiki software, such as MediaWiki on
your server and build a wiki from scratch
(requires some programming skills)
• Join an existing wiki community
example: http://www.wikia.com/wiki/Wikia
• Create an account on a Wiki Farm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki_farm
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Relevant Learning Experiences
• K-12 Education
• Higher Education
• Professional Development
Wikis are popular in education because of their
collaborative qualities. We have explored three
areas in which their use impacts learning:
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Higher Ed Teaching Examples
CyberOne at Harvard Law School
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/cyberone/wiki/Cyb
erOne
Wake Forest University
http://wiki.zsr.wfu.edu/social_stratification/inde
x.php/Home
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Higher Ed Administration Uses
• Meeting Planning/Documentation
• Student Services
• University Identity
• Enhance community
• Include community
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Higher Ed Admin Examples
Butler University Library
http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/butler_wikiref/butler_w
ikiref?wikiPageId=186560
University of Calgary Teaching & Learning Centre
http://wiki.ucalgary.ca/page/Main_Page
University of North Carolina Water Wiki
http://sogweb.sog.unc.edu/Water/index.php/Main_Page
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Higher Ed Research Uses
• Discussion
• Focused forum for sharing drafts
• Daily organization
• Communication
• Harness community knowledge
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Higher Ed Considerations
•Complement, don’t
replace
•Appropriate assignments
•Adequate process time
•Don’t over structure
•Vandalism and
inappropriateness
•Faculty workload
•Student reactions and
needs
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Characteristics
• Open source collaboration
• Content management comparison
• Body of knowledge for communities of
practice
• Knowledge management
• Performance support
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Examples
• Welcome to the Law Guru Wiki
http://wiki.lawguru.com/index.php/Main_Page
• Foodista.com
http://www.foodista.com/
• Globe and Mail Public Policy Wiki
http://policywiki.theglobeandmail.com/tiki-index.php
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Conclusion
As a tool for collaboration, the wiki is an
excellent choice. However, some things to
consider are:
• How much freedom should the users have to
edit the works of others?
• How are problems such as plagiarism to be
avoided?
• Is a wiki the best tool for the activity?
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Conclusion
The best way to learn about wikis is to try using one
for simple tasks, then progress to more complex
tasks.
The following is a link to a YouTube video from
CommonCraft that explains how to get started using
a wiki: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
dnL00TdmLY
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Introduction Sources
Barrett, D. (2009) MediaWiki: Wikipedia and Beyond, Sebastopol, CA:
O'Reilly Media, Inc., ISBN-13: 978-0-596-51979-7
Lamb, B. (2004) Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not, from
http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/WideOpenSpa
cesWikisReadyo/40498 (accessed February 19, 2009)
O'Reilly, T. (2006) Web 2.0 Compact Definition: Trying Again from
http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2006/12/web-20-compact-definition-
tryi.html
Strickland, J. (2005) Is there a Web 1.0? from
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-101.htm (accessed February 20,
2009)
Tech Terms Computer Dictionary (2009). Wiki from
http://www.techterms.com/definition/wiki (accessed February 19, 2009)
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K-12 Sources
Example of classroom wikis. (n.d.) Retrieved February 25, 2009, from
http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis.
Davis, V. (2007, February 25). Wikis in the Classroom. Retrieved February
19, 2009, from http://www.slideshare.net/coolcatteacher/wikis-in-the-
classroom
Kuroneko, K. (2008, December 21). Eduwikis - Using Wikis in the K-12
Elementary Classroom. Retrieved February 22, 2009, from
http://ezinearticles.com/?Eduwikis---Using-Wikis-in-the-K-12-
Elementary-Classroom&id=1809712
Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web
Tools for Classrooms. California: Corwin Press.
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Higher Ed Sources
Briggs, Linda (2008), The Power of Wikis in Higher Education, Campus Technology, 8/20/08,
http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2008/08/The-Power-of-Wikis-in-Higher-
Ed.aspx?p=1 (accessed 19 February, 2009)
Educause Learning Initiative (2005) “7 things you should know about Wikis”, July 2005,
www.educause.edu/eli (accessed 19 February, 2009)
Ferris, S., and Wilder, H. (2006) Uses and Potentials of Wikis in the Classroom. Innovate 2 (5)
Higgs, P. (2006). Hanging it All Out- Using a Wiki in University Research. In: Mader,
Steward, (ed) Using Wiki in Education. Using Wiki in Education,
http://www.wikiineducation.com/, pp. 41-53. (accessed 20 February, 2009)
Lamb, B. (2004) Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not, Educause Review, vol. 39, no. 5
(September/October ): 36-48
Reynard, R. (2009). “3 Challenges to Wiki Use in Instruction”, Campus Technology, 2/11/09,
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/02/11/3-challenges-to-wiki-use-in-
instruction.aspx (accessed 19 February, 2009)
Tonkin, M. (2005). Making the Case for a Wiki. Ariadne, 42
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue42/tonkin/intro.html accessed 2/19/2009 (accessed 19
February, 2009)
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Professional & Community Sources
C, M., Richard, L., Hichem, T., (1997). Cost justifying electronic performance support
systems, http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.39.3364, Retrieved
March 25, 2009.
Creative Commons, http://creativecommons.org/, Retrieved March 1, 2009.
Descy, D. E. (2006). All Aboard the Internet, The Wiki: True Web Democracy.
TechTrends, 50, (1), 4-5.
Hu, C., Yang, Z., Xueqin, Z. (2007). Wiki-based knowledge sharing in a knowledge-
intensive organization. International Federation for Information Processing, (252), 18-
25.
Ives, B. (2008). Wikis versus Knowledge Management, The Fast Forward Blog.
http://www.fastforwardblog.com/2008/02/15/wikis-versus-knowledge-management/,
Retrieved February 27, 2008.
Karrer, T. (2008) Performance Support: e-Learning Technology,
http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2008/08/performance-support.html, Retrieved
February 26, 2008.