Wikis

toc "Collective cognition is seen as emerging when a number of people reach insights through the process of working together that neither could have made alone, and that cannot be ascribed to the contribution of any one individual. This is significantly different from the roles of co-ordination." - Linda Grant

What is it?
Wikis are free-form web pages created and maintained by a group of people or by the general public. These pages can be formatted with a great degree of freedom, wiki pages can include writing, pictures, tables, files for download or other widgets which embed resources from the internet, such as youtube.

Space to create wikis free of charge can be found at several websites including:
 * [|Wiki Spaces]
 * [|Wiki Dot]
 * [|Wikia] - Free, run by the same people as wikipedia, but contains advertisements

These websites that provide wikispace and editing are known as[| wikifarms], and an exhaustive, searchable list of wikis is provided at [|wikiindex.org].

How do I use it?
The open format and branching structure of a wiki allows for many possible uses, but is best utilized as a collaborative assembly and revision of ideas concerning a particular topic.
 * 1) Choose a topic or body of knowledge.
 * 2) Form a rough organization of the knowledge you would like to make available; either as a set of categories or pages.
 * 3) Allow the editors to flesh out the skeleton created in step 2. It may be necessary for a page to branch out into multiple new pages as it is developed.

The history of every page can be stored, and users can view how information was added, modified or removed from the page. Each page also has a parallel page for discussion of that page. This is a place where the organization of the page can be decided on by collaborators, or particular additions to the page scrutinized.

Replacement Ideas

 * How might this resource replace outdated elements and/or provide a more engaging and motivating learning experience?
 * Provide an explanation of the kinds of outmoded practices this technology might replace.

Wikis can be used as a place for a group of students to publicly display their knowledge on a particular topic, similar to a website. This could replace more traditional assessment products intended for the public (or a simulated public):
 * written reports
 * posters
 * pamphlets
 * slide presentations

Research
Grant, L. (2009). 'I DON'T CARE DO UR OWN PAGE!' A case study of using wikis for collaborative work in a UK secondary school. //Learning, Media & Technology//, 34(2), 105-117. doi:10.1080/17439880902923564 [|Article in Walden University LIbrary]

This study highlights some of the birthing pains of wikis as an instructional tool. First is an excellent introduction into what a wiki is and how it has been used as a collaborative tool in education and the private sector. The researcher had groups of 9th grade students at a private school in the United Kingdom work together to create a wiki over three weeks and made a case study of the student's learning experience. The most telling events included the student's focus on carving out territory on the wiki and working heavily on their assigned topics, rarely seeing value in editing or contributing outside of their territory. Discussed at the end are how the role of teachers shifts greatly when learning and assessment are collaborative efforts, rather than individual activities.

Strengths and weaknesses
Excerpted from the Linda Grant article above: While many (e.g., Augar, Raitman, and Zhou 2004; De Pedro et al. 2006) see wikis as promoting collaboration, it is important to consider exactly what is meant by ‘collaboration’, particularly in distinguishing between collaboration and other forms of social learning. Lund and Smørdal’s (2006) study of using wikis in a secondary school classroom focuses on what they term ‘collective cognition’. Collective cognition is seen as emerging when a number of people reach insights through the process of working together that neither could have made alone, and that cannot be ascribed to the contribution of any one individual. This is significantly different from the roles of co-ordination that children in Desilets and Paquet’s (2005) study engaged in.

Augar, N., R. Raitman, and W. Zhou. 2004. Teaching and learning online with wikis. In Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE conference, ed. R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer, and R. Phillips, 95–104. [|link] (accessed October 1, 2008).

De Pedro, X., M. Rieradevall, P. Lopez, D. Sant, J. Pinol, and L. Nunez. 2006. Writing documents collaboratively in higher education using traditional vs. wiki methodology (I): Qualitative results from a 2-year project study. Congreso Internacional de Docencia Universitatria e Innovacion [International Congress of University Teaching and Innovation], July 5–7, in Barcelona. [|link] (accessed October 1, 2008).

Desilets, A., and S. Paquet. 2005. Wiki as a tool for web-based collaborative story telling in primary school: A case study. Paper presented at Ed Media 2005, World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, June 27–July 2, in Montreal.

Lund, A., and O. Smørdal. 2006. Is there a space for the teacher in a wiki? Paper presented at the 2006 International Symposium on Wikis, in Odense, Denmark.