Wikis

What are they?

A wiki is a very simple Web-based tool which was originally intended for online collaborative writing. It “allows one or more people to build up a corpus of knowledge in a set of interlinked web pages” (Franklin & van Harmelen, 2007). The name is derived from the Hawaiian word for “fast.” The best known example is the  Wikipedia encyclopaedia.

Wikis tend to have very simple formatting, so they’re also a very quick way to create and maintain simple Web pages.

The  Educause Learning Initiative’s (ELI’s) 7 Things You Should Know About... series contains a useful  guide to wikis (PDF).Common Craft has created a light-hearted animated  introduction to wikis (audio required).

How can I use them with my students?

Learning activities which can be supported by wikis include:

• Collaborative writing and editing, especially for assessment tasks such as group projects and reports. They can be useful in helping students to understand that they are writing for an audience, not just for their tutor.
• Collecting information to create student-generated resources.
• Conducting discussions. Here, a wiki can act as an alternative to a discussion forum, as all the contributions to a particular topic can be seen at once.

By restricting who can see and/or contribute to a wiki, you can preserve your students’ privacy and the integrity of their work.

Examples

• Collaborative writing (English Literature)
• Developing research skills
  • For both of the above, see John Webber: Wikis, Collaborative Writing and the Social Construction of Learning. Chapter 5 of Learner Experiences of E-learning. Proceedings of Theme 2 of the JISC Online Conference: Innovating E-learning 2006. Available in PDF:  A4 format or  A5 format.
• Developing students' collaborative learning skills. Read this interview for an insight into the promises and pitfalls of  encouraging collaboration among postgraduate students at the University of Birmingham (part of the  Kaleidoscope project).

Where can I get one?

Although wikis run on open source software and are Web-based, they usually have to be downloaded and hosted on one of your institution’s own Web servers. however there are also free hosting facilities on the Web. If you want to use a wiki with your students, initially contact your IT support staff. They can tell you whether there is already a wiki in your institution, if they will have to set one up for you, or if you should use an external service.

You can find a  list of free wiki tools on the Website of the  Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies.

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