Alright let’s talk about Wiki’s. As per our instructions I’ll cover my impressions and/or experiences with Wiki’s and the following questions:
* What did you find interesting about the wiki concept?
* How might schools take advantage of wiki applications?
* Many teachers/faculty “ban” Wikipedia as a source for student research. What do you think of this practice?
Impressions and/or Experiences:
Wiki’s are cool but should not be taken as the final word. An example would be the college I work for. Looking at the entry for it I can see many inaccurate comments and I can see that all sections of the page can be edited by anyone. This is a problem for most wiki’s. Private wiki’s are different. Having admins who are authorized to make edits is the best route to take to have accurate information.
What I find interesting about the wiki concept is the fact that you can have people from around the world collaborating on topics of interest. Assuming you have knowledgeable people contributing to the content, and not releasing the information until it has been properly vetted, the potential for wikis is endless. This can also be a double edge sword as well. You could have a group of people who “think” they are the experts on a topics leading to disastrous results.
Schools can take advantage of wiki’s only if they are closely monitored. For instance if a middle school class wanted to have a wiki on some subject that they are studying then you might have a teacher create a wiki and allow all or certain members of the class, like team leaders, make edits. They could be required to verify all of their edits and cite the sources. This would instill good research techniques as well as teach the students about copyright laws.
I don’t think wiki’s should be banned but they should not be used as an end all to research. Many students who are unfamiliar with research techniques, copyright laws and various other aspects of using other peoples work as their own should be properly informed by their instructor. However, if the instructor states that wiki’s shall not be used for course work then the student should respect that demand.
Overall wiki’s are a good thing if properly managed but they are not a substitute for ones own research.
