My Journey on the Wiki Wiki Bus: The Wiki World Circle Tour

My Journey on the Wiki Wiki Bus

Oh the irony! A tool that has just swallowed three days of my life has a name that is associated with the most languid, chill, hang-loose place on earth!

Here’s a pic of my visit to prove it:

Really...a wiki wiki bus?? Not cool, not sexy, not fun…






But on second thought…the wiki wiki bus does get you from here to there.

It does bring a lot of people along for the ride, you can get on and off at will.

And if you don’t like the seat you are on you can always change it.

If you stay on it long enough you will get back to from where you started.

But since I have been to Hawaii exactly twice as many times as I have been on a wiki, (Hawaii 2, Wiki 1) I had better use this assignment as my ticket to get on the bus. I hear there’s a Wiki World Circle Tour beginning shortly…

How exactly is a wiki, well…. wiki?

Everyone seems to be crazy about the wiki. The wiki is the popular member of the social software family that includes blogs, social networking tools, podcasts, RSS feeds, asynchronous media, social search communities, and synchronous technologies such as real time textual chat.

The wiki is king of collaboration and information sharing among users. Wikis are websites created by users that have congregated around a theme, a topic, an issue or a passion. The content is dynamic as visitors to can add and edit the posted information. As the site grows it evolves, assuming a stable yet dynamic nature; a virtual rag rug that assumes shape and identity, as it becomes a collaborative weaving.

Wiki communities can be small group collaborations to global collaborations to global encyclopedias, the most famous being Wikipedia. See David Warlick's site for more details and examples of educational sites.

Additionally there are constantly evolving new wiki tools, which in turn allow for more diverse learning opportunities for users.

PS...
Fun Fact … by the way, my husband told me “Memory Alpha”, was the first subset of Wikipedia. But all you Trekkies knew that already! But being in research mode, I checked anyway and he was right. Memory Alpha contains over 30,000 articles in its English edition alone as of June 2009[update], making it one of the largest wiki projects.




Back to the tour..

Educators are particularly fond of wikis.

Baird (2008) observed that today’s learners have grown up surrounded by the digital world, and as a result have developed new ways of understanding, learning and processing information. Consequently, there is a dissolving line between frontline and online education. This current generation of students, more than previous generations, approaches learning from a “what’s in it for me?” perspective.

But are wikis truly the ideal response to this point of view?
So the question must be asked, are wikis pedagogically effective?

Baird’s “digital pedagogy” supports the marriage of Web 2.0 tools and constructivist learning theory. This is a widely held view in the literature and Jonassen, Peck, & Wilson (1999) determined that technology is a powerful tool for constructivist learning as it provides a means of student-directed creation, manipulation and evaluation of knowledge databases.

Richardson (2009) refers to the wiki as a tool for a democratic process of knowledge creation. Some researchers also like the fact that the idea of user as producer, harkens back to an earlier intent of the web of being free, democratic, and participatory (Schaffert, Gruber, & Westenthaler, 2006). Wikis have a history of being used in all levels of education where, as a key collaborative tool, users can easily add, edit and track content of a collaborative project. An instructor can track contributions, and students can see their level of contribution. Learning therefore becomes active, constructive, and accountable.

The research also supports many teachers’ observations that students, as part of a larger group, are motivated to share, exchange, synthesize, evaluate and take ownership of the learning they have demonstrated. Sim (2008) notes that this process also serves to form identify, worth and value of the individual students. In addition, technology and socially rich project-based learning environments helps students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills—both essential skills for students to compete in a global knowledge-based society. (Baird, 2008)


Hazari, North, & Moreland (2009), found that “the use of Wikis in group settings encourages students to produce work that they can use later in electronic portfolios and job interviews. Since most businesses use groupware software that allows collaboration similar to Wikis, students develop skills associated with teamwork and sharing of ideas when using technology tools.” (p.189)


No Silver Bullet

In their study of the pedagogical effectiveness of wikis in the classroom, these researchers further concluded that “ further scale development is needed because a standardized scale measuring pedagogical implications of Wiki (or other Web 2.0 tools) does not exist. Emerging technologies have the potential to have a significant impact on learner outcomes, provided they are structured properly in the curriculum to increase knowledge, motivation, and enthusiasm for learning.”
(Hazari, North, & Moreland, 2009, p.194) (emphasis mine)


Like any new and cool tool in the kit of teachers, it is only as effective as teachers’ abilities to adapt it and use it in their own contextualized environments. The literature cautions that the wiki, in and of itself, is no guarantee of enriched learning. “Mishra and Koehler (2006) found that variables such as course content, instructional pedagogy, and technology influence classroom learning; and sound instructional practices are also important components in the learning process. Instructors can explore the potential offered by Wikis and realize its benefits if used correctly. “ (Hazari, North, & Moreland, 2009, p.193)

Schrand (2008) adds this observation

For digital technology to transform education in the ways that have been anticipated, instructors will need to continue to think creatively interactivity…and highly visible public display are two characteristics of the new multimedia especially well-suited for active, collaborative student-centered learning that spans multiple intelligences. (p.82)

Okay, so I am convinced.

I got hooked on the constructivist connection as my entire Outreach for Pregnant and Parenting Teen (OPPT) Program, which is individualized and student-directed, is constructivist by nature and by design.

The next stop on our Wiki World Circle Tour is a pit stop. Let’s take a break here at the bus stop.