Wikis and WikiEducator: Collaborative Writing

Format and title

• No longer than 3 A4s in Arial size10 and it has to be sent before 30th of May, 2009.
• Proposed titles:

• Wikis and WikiEducator

Wikis

Definition

"Wikis are collections of web pages". The web pages contain information developed by an individual or a group of people. The information can be accessed, used, and edited. Editing includes adding new information, removing, and editing for accuracy of spelling, grammar,and content (Trinder, Guiller, Margaryan, Littlejohn & Nicol, 2009, p. 17).

Wikis are Web 2.0 Tools...

History of Wikis

Wiki technologies were developed during the emerging of Web 2.0 (web based) tools, in which their main component is collaboration. The concept of "collaboration" is based on the idea that a group of different people work together to achieve common goals and enrich an artifact by contributing to the collaborative content.

The idea of the wiki is not new. Much of Aristotle's work is actually a collaborative product. The work published under the authorship of Aristotle's writings is not necessarily his personal but many are letters and notes taken from his disciples during their classes together. The notes and memos were collated, augmented, corrected, and evaluated for publication.

References

Trinder, K., Guiller, J., Margaryan, A., Littlejohn, A., & Nicol, D. (2008, May). Learning from digital natives: Bridging formal and informal learning. The Higher Education Academy. Retrieved July 9, 2009, from http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/ldn/LDNFinalReport.pdf

WikiEducator

• WikiEducator is...
• WE uses Mediawiki software, an open source platform...

WE as a teaching tool

WikiEducator has beeen succesfully used as a teaching tool. Teachers create the students' accounts, then, teach them the basic wiki skills, once they have learned the basics, they begin uploading to WE their corresponding assignments. One of the notable consequences of using the wiki for assignments is the eradication of piles of paper on the desk of the teacher. The work is evaluated trough the Web, adding to student writing a text block with the grade. Assignments can be personal o collaborative.

Wiki pages can be converted to pdf...

Resources

References

1. Ebner, M., Kickmeier-Rust, A. M., & Holzinger, A. (2008, February). Utilizing wiki-systems in higher education classes: A chance for universal access? Retrieved July 9, 2009, from http://www.springerlink.com/content/01898k53u2041651/fulltext.pdf
2. Elgort, E., Smith, A. G., & Toland, J. (). Is wiki an effective platform for group course work? Retrieved July 9, 2009, from http://ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet24/elgort.html
3. Ruth, A. & Houghton, L. (2009). The wiki way of learning. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 25(2), 135-152. Retrieved July 6, 2009. from, http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet25/ruth.html