Wiki+Experiences

__**Wiki Experiences**__

One of my doctoral students decided to conduct his dissertation research with a Wiki. His study compares the experiences of students who work on group reports both via a Wiki and face-to-face. The Wiki process worked quite well, in that the students liked it and produced reports of comparable quality to those produced in face-to-face work sessions. This experience impressed me and further reinforced my inclination to explore the Wiki as an online communication tool. In the space available below, describe any experiences that you have had with wikis. Especially if you have little experience with wikis, I recommend you read this article entitled "Wikis: From Each According to His Knowledge" (also in Learn's Wiki folder). Please comment here on the potential of wikis to facilitate online activities. What do you feel are the key strengths and weaknesses of the wiki application? What factors can determine whether a wiki works well as an online space for contributors to share their thoughts? Describe any experiences you have had with wikis and assess their success. Would you ever want to create your own wiki for an educational purpose? Remember to include your name in parentheses at the end of your posting, like this. (D. Tiene)

My only experiences with wikis is here at Kent within the graduate coursework. One collaboration project was an experience that was both good and bad. The general outline and what I thought was going to happen did not occur. I was under the impression that it was going to be a team effort, putting work out here, and then finding that someone else from the group expounded on the subject matter. The work was to be judged by not only the professor, but out there for my fellow students, becoming a collection or repository of great knowledge. Not true in this case. In this case some of the students in the collaboration had no interest in updating, correcting or expanding on anything that they did not produce up front. I would guess that this might occur because most of us maintain a private portfolio of our own work. Can a portfolio be produced from a wiki? The end result was that two in the group cleaned up the project before it was submitted, doing most of the work. I think the biggest issue my group had was that our outcomes or goals were not aligned with each other’s. There were some in the group that wanted an “A” on the project, while others just wanted to pass the course. Collaboration is also a difficult thing to do. You have to respect points of views of others which is uncommon 100% of the time. We’ve all been told throughout school to look straight ahead and keep your eyes off of your neighbors work, adhering to codes of honor too. In my case while in school, there wasn’t much of an environment for collaboration. In my opinion, while in the class mentioned above, there was this assumption that we all knew how to use the wiki. We did not. For wikis to work well, students should be helped to unlearn some of what they learned in the past about proper behavior in the classroom to bring everyone on the same page. (S. Tornero)

I had a very similar experience as S. Tornero. I was very frustrated using the Wiki in my class for the same reasons that you pointed out. I think whenever you use collaboration or cooperative learning in a classroom, you need to have clear guidelines and clear expectations. I didn't know until now that the teacher could actually see what each student added to the conversation. It was almost unfair for everyone that didn't know that. The student that did nothing (I literally mean nothing) should have failed that project and the 2 of us that did everything felt very frustrated as we worked our butts off. I just assumed we all got A's on that project and now I wonder. The lack of communication on the part of the instructor was a huge problem. Our book (Web 2.0 Tools) did mention that Wikis work best if they are based on good pedagogy and that cooperative learning should be used if the students are familiar with the expectations and if the assignment had a purpose, not just a hand in assignment. All of these things contributed to the failure of that assignment. I think that it is interesting that Dr. Tiene's student who did the dissertation research on this topic found that the results were similar to the live group. I could see this tool being very useful for online collaboration. I have not used the tool other than in my classes at Kent in which only one was a bad experience. I loved using the wiki in my library class to share programming topics and specific ideas. I also loved using a wiki to create booklists. I agree with our book and think it would be a neat tool for a principal to use for grade level discussions, subject area discussions, policy and procedures and a place to share best practices. The ideas for students seem to be endless too. I would love to use it as a writing tool with students. I especially like that it is available 24/7, you can have private and public pages and that parents can see what students are doing. (Patti N)

Edith Serkownek: I too have generally used Wikis for course projects both as a student and as an instructor. While I did not have the same negative experiences as S. Tornero and Patti N., I confess that I do experience a strong inner designer/editor voice that often feels uncomfortable with the way that different contributors employ different styles, voices and formatting. As a result when the project is a group project, I do spend quite a bit of time attempting to provide standardization to the document. I also do think that there is a great deal of hesitancy and even potential resentment in the changing of other people's contributions. I know this is odd as the format of the Wiki itself is designed to invite revisions and additions. However, this can also be seen as an implied criticism of the contributor if done too often or too heavily. As my classmates note clear expectations often need to be stated at the beginning of a project in terms of how people should be contributing and how those contributions will be viewed or judged by others. Interestingly, my Sweetie has a work-Wiki very similar to the private Wikis mentioned in "Wikis" From Each According to His Knowledge." It is a gathering place for technical documentation and appears to work quite well. Although when bored, employees have also been known to write and post random articles for their own amusement.

I may have tried to use a Wiki in library school way back in 2007, but I am not sure! I'll have to say as far as this one goes, I am not liking it. It is very confusing and I keep reading the same posts over and over, it will look like a new one has been added, but it just the same thing. I really liked blogging and I like our discussions in Learn, but for me this takes to much time to find the what I want as far information goes. I think there are ways of collaborating we use Google Drive and Hangout and I would probably like a wiki that looks more like the science one on pg 207, to me it looks like a webpage and it is very organized. No offense to you Dr. Tiene, go Longhorns, not really! What I am trying to say is that I love collaboration, I just need it in a concise, easy to use, time efficient format. Another issue not even addressed, many wikis are blocked in my district as they are seen as social media. (L. Bode)

The wiki posts so far have pointed out some limitations of the wiki format and challenges associated with professional collaboration. I have read many complaints about wiki-based (or Google Docs) projects in other ITEC classes that required group work. The main difficultly, as Steve Tornero and Patti Naim have indicated, is generally with getting everyone to contribute adequately and effectively. This is especially problematic if there is no leadership. In the corporate world, teamwork is common, but supervision is also generally provided. With college assignments, this supervision is generally lacking. Since the instructor is not involved with the project, students are left on their own to deal with irresponsible individuals and flawed group dynamics. With collaborative efforts, as Edith Serkownek mentions, there can also be challenges associated with developing a consistent product, unless one person serves as an editor. Wikis allow for easy, efficient editing, but this too can be a problem, if the work of others is altered without their permission (or even realization). Finally, wikis are often very plain and they are probably not well suited for class discussions such as this one. As Liz Bode indicates, discussion boards and blogs are designed more specifically for this purpose. A wiki is more of a collaborative posting spot, better suited for group projects, organizational sharing of information, informational updates, etc. What other concerns do people have about wikis? Have some of you enjoyed working with wikis and why did that work out well? (D. Tiene)

Other than interacting with wikis online like Wikipedia, I had never actually been involved in the creation or collaboration of a wiki until beginning my studies at Kent. One of my very first classes had a required group project that was completed almost exclusively using a wiki. I found the wiki to be a great way to collaborate and work with others at a distance. I was admittedly a novice and I think my group members were a little frustrated with me but by the end of the project I was able to keep up and make suggestions and add content. I have also used a wiki to create a digital pathfinder for another class. It was much simpler and more streamlined than trying to create a web page and updating it was a breeze. I've just started using Google apps at work and these also make collaborating pretty easy so long as the owner remembers to share with you and/or give you the ability to update. (S. Daniels)

I have never personally worked with wikis aside from Wikipedia. I have used Wikipedia as a resource but I have not made contributions to the site. I like the ideas of wikis, but I'm not sure how I could effectively incorporate them into the classroom. Aside from many worries I have that we have already stated, my biggest concern would be students completing a meaningless task. By requiring students to create wikis, I'm not so sure they would develop a conceptual understanding of the material. I believe if a student chose to create a wiki as a representation of the content they wanted to convey to their audience, I think that would be effective. I am far to unfamiliar with wikis as well as how to effectively incorporate them. Also, technology is a huge issue for me. I would have to take my students to a computer lab and most of my students do not have Internet access at home. Accessing the wikis alone could be somewhat troublesome. (A. Lewandowski)

I have worked with wiki's only in my courses here at Kent. We used the wiki space for a group project on flipping the classroom. I really liked using the wiki because it allows everyone to work on the same assignments without having to send around a file for everyone to edit. The wiki offered a better level of collaboration. With the project we started with the divide an conquer method then went through what the other group members created once they were done. As others have said, there is typically somewhere where there are instances that all group members are not contributing equally. At the same time, I think that this is a dynamic of collaboration and not necessarily the wiki. I think that some level of understanding of how a wiki works or willingness to learn to be an effective contributor is important. I do think that wikis are fairly straight forward, however, when working with students that have differing levels of experience this is an important to take into consideration. (E. Mitchell)

I have worked on Wikis for classes. The one in here seems to be a little confusing. I think because we are starting with little but all of us need to start and get in the groove. We do have a Wiki for work but it is only for the tech dept. We just have a site to add or change anything going on for the technology department. I think the collaboration our book talks about is kind of what we do with our work Wiki. I hope in our classes that it works that way, but it could be difficult to get everyone on the same page. In a student classroom it would work at school, but at home it would be different, do they have internet, would they use it correctly, or numerous other questions would have to be asked. (J.Maley)

I use Wikis relatively frequently for my job. We always add contributions to our practice's wiki ( In my case the Microsoft Unified Communications wiki) and it is a great resource when dealing with a new technology such as our Windows 10 page. Since this is such a new topic, not many people have a great grasp of what it can do or is capable of. This is where theses wikis really shine because they are a unified source of information sharing and collaboration that we all use and contribute to. On a global level, wikis work in very much the same manner and while they do have potential flaws they are also very great tools for learning. (M. Alloway)

Wikis were introduced about 10 years ago as a main tool to capture //technical// knowledge at the firm where I work. Our Knowledge team within IT thought wikis would be an excellent place for tech support people to contribute solutions, tips, pathways, etc. for reuse. The main purpose was to give our tech support a medium to share what they've discovered when fixing PCs so other support folks wouldn't have to start from scratch and potentially reinvent the wheel over and over. Wikis seemed perfect because technical support technicians "in the field" who were literally creating and testing solutions had a place to capture and reuse knowledge. The problems arose when solutions were being posted that weren't necessarily vetted as compliant with our technical standards. Sometimes extremely savvy technicians found workarounds to problems that yes, fixed an issue, but had negative implications elsewhere. Another example that rose to the surface was techs that had certain admin rights could make changes that others couldn't make. Posting info like this to the wiki started to cause confusion and many questions. These are just two specific examples but there are many more that led to our technical wikis being closely monitored...then all solutions posted being tested...then all submissions needing approval for posting...then all submissions going through a formal submission process. Some of the characteristics of a wiki, like the collaborative nature of the postings and peer editing, were being removed. Over time they became less and less like wiki spaces and more and more like indexed, searchable knowledge repositories only. Eventually the wiki concept went away for technical content as there really was a need to ensure the content met compliance standards and all knowledge submissions were tested for accuracy. (Melissa Lewis)

Our school librarian uses a wiki to sign up for the school’s computer labs. A teacher signs up for a specific day and time and it works great. I have personally not used any wikis in class but can see the possibilities. Wikis would work best when a large number of people have the goals of contribution and improvement by supplying information for those who need it. Small groups could work collaboratively in a wiki or a google drive equally well. I feel the main strength of a wiki is how it self corrects to build a consensus. Experts on anything like to correct others, especially remotely through the internet. Having dozens of proof-readers on a topic will keep the subject content correct. I think the main weakness is if only a small amount of people contribute, the information can become bias or stop evolving. For a wiki to work well as a way to generate content, a large number of experts must contribute. For a wiki to work as a meeting spot for collaboration to work, each person must be assigned a segment of the body of work and be solely responsible, and graded, for that content. I can imagine a science lab group writing a large lab report on a wiki, each student assigned a separate part but still whole responsible for the content of the entire report. (A. Krejci)

My experience with wikis has also been mainly through coursework. I felt very frustrated the first time I was required to use a wiki in that I had to learn how to use the wiki and I had to complete coursework. However, once I learned the basics, I did enjoy utilizing the wiki. I liked being able to see where the group project was going as we collaborated to finish projects. I liked being able to see where my work was corrected and found the additions of my peers to be quite helpful. Additionally, I felt that by seeing the project unfold, we were able to stay on track and meld our project together better than other assignments I have had where each student takes one part and then the group mashes it toghether at the last minute. Also, we were able to see what parts of our project needed more work and were able to avoid missing pieces due to non-participation.

One particular use of the wiki as a tool that I enjoy is for a virtual field trip. Students contribute pictures, descriptions, historical and cultural information, travel tips, videos, etc. of a certain location. The wiki then becomes an informative hotspot of information.

Another use for a wiki in the educational setting is a creative writing prompt. The first paragraph is provided. The students then take turns writing a paragraph at a time building on the story. For additional practice, each student can correct grammatical/proofreading errors in the paragraph before theirs. (K.McDonald)

I’ve had two experiences with Wikis. About 10 years ago we had an inservice about Wikis and I set one up as a way for the special education department to collaborate but it never got off the ground. Back then; I didn’t really know what it was or what kind of potential it had.

My second experience with a Wiki was as a group project for one of my ITEC classes. I enjoyed that experience and can honestly say that the end result was better because of the collaboration that was involved. My only frustration with the Wiki was that there were some formatting issues that were frustrating to try to rectify. We never were able to have a consistent format throughout the whole project.

Two ideas that interested me were discussed in the book. The first was use of a Wiki by school administrators to disseminate information to staff. I really liked this idea because the principal I work for is a former English major. His emails are quite lengthy and he sends numerous emails a day. He also sends the same email multiple times because the staff has a hard time finding emails due to the volume of emails we receive in a single day. By using a Wiki, the numbers of emails would decrease and staff wouldn’t have as hard a time finding information that the principal wants us to pay attention to.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also liked the idea Audrey Colwell mentioned in the book, page 206, about how she uses Wikis for everything including a tool for students who are absent as a way of keeping up with what is going on in class and as a record of what students have learned over the year.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I would have to give the idea of a Wiki related to math more thought to see how I would want to use it. I am sure it is possible, but I don’t have a sense of what I would want to do with a Wiki as it relates to special needs students and math.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Key strengths are student engagement, collaboration, its ease of use, versatility to incorporate different types of media and can be tailored to the needs of the user.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Key weaknesses: Accuracy can come into question because there is no oversight to guarantee accuracy. Bias can be introduced by the contributors. Contributions to the Wiki can start to decrease over time. (MJ Callahan)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Collaboration! Using a wiki can help facilitate collaboration.