Wikis in the classroom Martina Eggerking, Mareike Gößmann, Christine Natzel

Wikis in the classroom 2 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 classroom 3 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“

Wikis in the classroom 4 1. What is a Wiki? WIKI Everybody reads, everybody writes INTERNET Everybody reads, few write Specific readers, specific writers

Wikis in the classroom 5 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)

Wikis in the classroom 6 2. How to wiki? Need: standard web browser Every page: „edit page“, „save“ Interconnected hyperlinks Page history Large and open / small and closed

Wikis in the classroom 7 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

Wikis in the classroom 8 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)

Wikis in the classroom 9 4. Pedagogical value

Wikis in the classroom Classroom usage Writinglesson summaries collaboration 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

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Wikis in the classroom 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 S uccessful learning

Wikis in the classroom Disadvantages Explicit structure and instructions for the teacher are missing Technical challenges Wrong postings in form and content Confusing Wikis

Wikis in the classroom 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.

Wikis in the classroom Problems with Wikis: Student online safety issues Copyright violations Quality and reliability of wikis Lack of Internet access Appropriate class size More student autonomy

Wikis in the classroom 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.

Wikis in the classroom 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

Wikis in the classroom Bibliography Moskaliuk, Johannes. Konstruktion und Kommunikation von Wissen mit Wikis. Theorie und Praxis. Boizenburg: Hülsbusch, Richardson, Willi. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, uction/Wikis_in_the_Classroom