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Wikis are one of the first and more well-known Web 2.0 tools. Wikis are web pages that

users can contribute to and learn from. Much of the literature out there today refers to wikis

usefulness for English and writing courses. However, there are many examples of using wikis in

other disciplines. The prevailing pro-wiki standpoint is that is promotes collaboration. Knobel

and Lankshear explain the use of wikis in their article, Wikis, Digital Literacies, and

Professional Growth. The call this wikis era read, write, web. They define wikis as, a

collection of webpages whose content is typically organized around a specific purpose or topic.

Content can be collaboratively written, added to, deleted, and modified by users (631). Wikis

are ideal for education because they are useful for accessing useful and current resources.

Another benefit is that most wikis have built-in discussion areas for comments. This aides in

promoting the sense of community. While some people may be hesitant to voice their opinion in

class, online they are more anonymous and freer to express themselves.

The many merits of wikis are also discussed inAuthoring Wikis: Rethinking Authorship

through Digital Collaboration. The main idea of the article is the notion of authorship and that

is one of the benefits of wikis and how they promote collaboration. They explain, the entire

text of the wiki is constantly being revised and updated, andthis is what makes wikis

particularly interesting as a tool for teaching writing any user can edit information posted by

any other user (Weingarten & Frost, 48). They call wikis a collaborative chorus. Another

benefit is seen through peer editing, which takes the focus off of authoring. They further

expound by explaining that, By deferring the author function and making the text a shared

resource, wiki creation can bypass some of the trepidation students feel about editing their peers

work or working collaboratively. It shifts the focus from authorship to the actual work of

writing (53).


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The use of wikis is not limited to high school or college aged students. One

school used wikis for a group of second grade at-risk readers. The teacher set up pages for each

students writing projects, along with a page for discussion about their projects. The goal was to

create a writing project to facilitate collaboration between students, parents, and teachers

(Andes & Claggett, 345). The results were very positive. The majority of the students

demonstrated an increase of three to five reading levels. An Arizona school district has taken the

use of technology to a higher level. They are using technology to save money by utilizing the

many free resources available and creating a community that fosters collaboration and

ownership. They have ceased using textbooks and in turn use a digital curriculum. They

examine each standard and create a wiki page for each one. Teachers also set up wikis to share

lessons and ideas. This creates a great sense of community and collaboration. Jennifer Demski

explains the process by stating that,

the teacher is taken to a wiki page created by the BTI team specifically

for each standard. On the page, teachers will find all of the resources available

from the curriculum department to assist in teaching the standard,

including an "unwrap" document, which is created by the curriculum

department and outlines what the students need to learn about the concept,

provides questions teachers should be asking, notes the level of rigor at

which students should be learning, and provides sample tasks that students

can do to demonstrate learning (Demski, 42).

This district is truly dedicated to instilling in their students the 21st

century skills needed to

compete in the workforce. They also provide their teachers with the training to learn the 21st


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century skills to teach the students. It really is a win-win situation and a model other districts

can follow.

Yet another example of the successful use of wikis is seen in the article, From Socrates to

Wikis. In this example, a middle school literature teachers set up wikis for his students to work

on projects and discuss works of literature. In addition to the wikis he used discussion posts and

threads and the students responded very positively to that. The students loved the anytime access

and found themselves always thinking about the books they read and discussed in class.

Koopman explains, This process is democratic, allowing students who are marginalized

in the classroom to interject their ideas into the conversation. As one student said, You dont

even think about who wrote, you are just thinking about the ideas (25). Koopman continues by

explaining, Wikis provide a nonjudgmental method of discourse that makes it safe to walk

away, reflect, consider how a comment is being viewed by others, and then focus ones thinking

or ask for clarification (25). Koopman found when she allowed the students to create the

discussion topics that they were more invested in them, so she allowed that. The results from

using wikis and discussion posts were very positive.

I believe that wikis are excellent tools for all subject areas, even mathematics. It allows

the students a forum to work on assignments together or just discuss assignments and further

classroom discussions. There are so many possibilities in how to use wikis. Before I began this

assignment my knowledge of wikis and Web 2.0 tools in general was very limited. My school

does not have a lot of technology and we are offered no training on how to use the technology

we have. However, this school year I moved into the new building and we do have a LCD

projector hooked up to my computer. I did utilize a lot more technology this year. This year we

were provided a code to unblock YouTube but wikis and some other Web 2.0 tools are still


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blocked. I plan on discussing the issue with our IT person during pre-planning. The articles I

read provided a lot of valuable information and things I can do to incorporate wikis into my

classroom.

There are many positive uses of wikis in the classroom. As discusses previously, the fact

that wikis promote collaboration and a sense of ownership make this a very useful tool. The

examples are numerous, such as the second grade writing project discusses previously in Andes

and Claggetts article and Koopmans example of the middle school literature class. From

second grade reading classes to college writing classes, wikis can be used to help students work

on individual and group projects. Individually students can receive peer editing and other

comments. As a group, members can all contribute to a page. Again, wikis do not have to be

limited to English or Writing classes. For example, in a math class a teacher can set up pages for

different concepts and put math problems on the page. Students can solve the problem, write out

the steps, and even create their own problems. Students can also post questions about the content

to their teacher or classmates. As discussed earlier, this anonymity allows students to ask

questions they may be embarrassed to ask in class.

Despite the many benefits of using wikis, there are many barriers that prevent the

educational world from embracing this, as well as many other Web 2.0 tools. Knoble and

Lankshear explain one of the major barriers. They explain, One reason for wikis being

overlooked in education may be because contributing to a wiki isnt (yet) as automatic as is

setting up and posting to a blog (631). Basically they are saying that teachers simply do not

know how to use it. Training is the key to get teachers to invest in any new program. Andes and

Claggett share this sentiment and state that, to be successful, technology integration programs


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must provide training, exist on site, and supply support that is immediate to teacher needs (348).

Demski agrees and adds why teachers often do not buy into new programs. He states that,

"There are lots of great programs out there that you can just plug and play, but so often those

are just done from the district on down and there's no ownership or buy-in for the teachers the

fact that this [wikis] is dynamic and interactive has just been huge in making it successful and

getting teachers involved (44). These barriers are present in many new technology programs.

In order to equip our students with the 21st

century skills they need we must work to eliminate

these barriers.

Technology is the future, there is no denying that. The main goal of education is to

prepare our students to become productive members of society. If we fail to teach them the skills

necessary to compete in the 21st

century, our system is fails to achieve its goal. The article Free

at Lastshows how a district can implement these news skills from the top down, from the district

level to the school house. There are initiatives such as the Beyond Textbooks Initiative, and

others that strive to provide our students the technological skills needed to compete in the

workforce. I see a time when all schools use Web 2.0 tools for class work and projects. I

foresee a time when collaborative learning is the norm, not something special. Also, a time when

traditional textbooks are gone and everything is done online. No matter how much the higher

ups in education resist technology for whatever reason, the farther behind they and their students

get.


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Works Cited

Andes, L., & Claggett, E. (2011). Wiki Writers: Students, Teachers, and Making Connections

Across Communities. The ReadingTeacher, 64 (5), 345-350.

Demski, J. (2009) Free at Last. T.H.E. Journal, 36(6), 39-44.

Frost, C. & Weingarten K. (2010). Authoring Wikis: Rethinking Authorship Through Digital

Collaboration. RadicalTeacher, 90, 47-57.

Knobel, M., & Lankshear, C. (2009). Wikis, Digital Literacies, and Professional Growth.

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 52(7), 631-634.

Koopman, B.L. (2010/2011). From Socrates to Wikis.Kappan, 92(4), 24-27.

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