wikis. weird or wonderful.

Teachers in todays society are leaning toward much more Social Constructivist teaching methods, where there is an emphasis placed on collaborative learning with the students working together to formulate ideas and opinions. Therefore to work in line with teaching methods that have proven both successful and engaging in the classroom, Web 2.0 has introduced the concept of a wiki. Not new in any means, wikis have been around for many years however their presence in the classroom is fresh and rapidly climbing. Similar to blogs, wikis enable the opportunity for collaborative sharing amongst peers; though they then go the next step and create opportunities for learning platforms, where students can deliberate with one another, discuss with one another and formulate opinions with one another all through investigation that can be orchestrated on their wiki. Acting as a collective intelligence a wiki can be used by individuals, groups or whole grades to create an informative page that can act as an alternative textbook in the classroom or something as simple as a journal of the classroom mascot. Teachers are able to keep up to date with their students investigations/journal through visiting their wikis and witnessing the progress that has occurred. Wikis are the perfect example of social constructivism as they are enabling students to co-construct their knowledge to the highest degree; as a collective intelligence it enables the ability to share knowledge with one another and compare thoughts and opinions all working together towards the same goal, which in itself is an ideal teaching methodology. 

Unfortunately like all technology people automatically look for fault even if the benefits are clearly definable. The accuracy of wikis can be brought into questioning; however this is quickly squashed when wikis are introduced effectively into the classroom. By working collaboratively to create a unified page of information on a certain topic, there's a chance to discuss each posting and challenge misconceptions. The need to reference where information was sourced can also prevent any misleading or incorrect information. Yes, correction could be seen as time consuming from a teacher perspective but when you think of the finished product and the learning that is being undertaken to create the wiki, the investigation that the students go through or simply the collaborative experience the undertake together, it definitely outweighs the cons and don't we all want to promote a collaborative technology-rich learning environment?

The benefits of using technology is clearly evident if you simply take the time to witness it in the classroom. Technology engages students, motivating them and enabling them the opportunity to have the world essentially at their fingertips. It provides alternative new ways of learning that are appealing to the young eye that is so often distracted and disheartened when a hefty textbook is put in front of them. Something as simple as a Wiki can offer the platform for a technology-rich learning environment, promoting new dimensions of pedagogical innovation, addressing learner diversity and challenging traditional approaches (Dixon, 2010).

An interesting quote from George Siemen, a theorist on learning in a digitally based society:

 It's the change underlying these tools that I'm trying to emphasize.

Forget blogs...think open dialogue.

Forget wikis...think collaboration.

Forget podcasts...think democracy of voice.

Forget RSS/aggregation...think personal networks. 

Forget any of the tools...and think instead of the fundamental restructuring of how

 knowledge is created, disseminated, shared, and validated.