Wikieducator tutorial/Pedagogy of the wiki

These are examples of the kinds of questions we receive at WikiEducator on a regular basis. While there are no simple answers to these questions, this tutorial will shed some light on these issues from the perspective the values which underpin our community.

Preknowledge

Have you ever wondered about the following issues: What is the pedagogy behind using a wiki in the educational setting? What pedagogical theories apply to collaborative wiki use?

Wiki Pedagogy

Activity

In your view, what pedagogical practices are applied when collaboratively building a wiki? Go to Google Scholar and search for a number of different terms associated with pedagogy and the Web 2.0. This list can include; elearning, pedagogy, web 2.0, blogging, wiki, podcasting, tagging and others. Be creative, download documents, be prepared to do a little reading. Do the same search at Google, Yahoo You should now have a small collection of references to pedagogy and the Web 2.0, in particular wikis. Create a list of the pedagogical theories that you believe relate to wiki use. Add to each item listed why you believe the theory applies to wiki use. Be prepared to share this list in the discussion group.

Wiki Design patterns

The use of patterns within technology development has grown grown considerably since the idea of architectural design patterns were first introduced by Christopher Alexander. For a brief history on design patterns visit the wikipatterns web page. How do patterns apply to educational wikis? The wikipatterns site does an excellent job of identifying the different wiki patterns. How they can be used within an educational context is the goal of this learning activity.

Activity

In your view, what are the different ways that a wiki can be used? What wiki patterns are best suited as learner roles? How could the aforementioned wiki "patterns" be used in educational settings? Be prepared to identify and rationalize the wiki patterns most conducive to learning in the discussion group.