If you search the web, you won’t find many arguments against using wikis in educational classes. Every disadvantage or objection listed (vandalism, privacy, etc.) can be overcome with moderate ease. So why isn’t everyone doing it?
Actually, if you search for wiki lesson plans, it looks as if everyone is doing it. There are incredibly creative examples of wiki use abounding on the internet, with K-12 teachers leading the way. It may seem odd to think of third graders having a class wiki, but there are plenty of examples. It seemed to me, though, that as one looks into higher and higher education levels, that wiki use starts to taper off.
If it is true, and not just my impression, why would that be? Is it because many higher education classes are taught by older educators, who are not as willing to embrace something that may be a passing educational fad? Is it because at the college and university level, the idea of “authoritative sources” is still the only recognized and approved method of scholarship? (Follow this link to an interesting debate between the leaders of Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica regarding what constitutes an authority: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115756239753455284-A4hdSU1xZOC9Y9PFhJZV16jFlLM_20070911.html?mod=blogs
Or is because in many colleges and universities that lecture is still the preferred means of delivering content, and wikis are just too “hands-on” to be effective or the instructor doesn’t want to give up control?
I don’t have the answer, but my search for college level wikis turned up only about one-tenth the examples of those used in elementary and secondary schools.
How I might use a wiki in my college class:
If I were to introduce the idea of a class wiki right now, in the middle of the semester, I would introduce it to my students with the invitation to join me in an experiment. I think I need to be truthful and tell them that I’m not an expert on the editing tools, and haven’t looked at a million wikis to see what ours might look like. That might actually encourage a few of them to explore this idea with me. If they feel that they have nothing to lose and something to gain, possibly they will be willing to test this new process.
Even though wikis have been around and have been used in education for a while, most of my students probably haven’t used one in a classroom setting before. I don’t think the idea is widespread in our county K-12 school system yet, so the 18 to 25 year old group might have a modest introduction to them but certainly haven’t been overloaded. For the 30 and up group who are returning to school while working, it is unlikely that many have used a class wiki before.
I don’t want to jump on a bandwagon just because everyone else is doing it. I could see a class wiki being very beneficial to the students, though, since we don’t use a textbook and they could actually create the textbook themselves.
As I look at the physical access my students have to the necessary technology, I am quite sure that not all of them would contribute. For many of them, access to computers is just barely adequate to get done what they need to do right now. It is not so much the idea of
Because we’ve already started the semester, I can’t make this part of the student’s grade. If the process turns out to be workable and beneficial, it could become part of next year’s assessment procedure. I am especially interested in the idea of being able to see how students are developing, so that if there is a need to change the approach to a concept, I can do it before we get to an important test. More important, though is the question of whether my students are willing to explore and experiment with this with no reward from me. We have built such a “pay for your effort” reward base into our system, though, that I think only those who are truly, deeply interested in the subject matter will follow me into the wiki jungle without getting something in return.
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