I have to admit that, at least initiailly I didn’t see much use for a wiki. I viewed it as nothing more than a glorified web page, that wasn’t worth much as a resource because it could be readily altered by anyone. As Trapper John McIntyre once said on the tv show MASH…“Intelligence allows for change”. This can apply not only to my outlook on wikis, but also to the wikis themselves. I no longer see wikis as a form of “reference material”, but as an educational tool that offers a variety of benefits to education.  Wikis can be useful in providing lesson summaries, which list key concepts and vocabulary. This would allow for the students’ own insight on what they think are key terms and concepts. I would even go so far as to say that the wiki could be utilized an on-line study guide. To further this concept, the wiki can allow for a collaboration of notes which would then allow all students ready access to material that they might have picked up, but that others may have missed.  Another potential use for a wiki is concept introducation. I think this offers a great opportunity to determine students prior knowledge of a topic. The instructor could list a title or heading and the students could add what they already know about a topic to the wiki, developing a “cross section” of knowledge about the subject. The information posted could then be used as part of the lesson introduction to stimulate discussion. Additionally, wikis can be used at the opposite end of a lesson to summarize the lesson itself, which in turn brings us back to the idea of a study tool.

Another unique feature is that they are what I would consider “expandable”. Although it may be difficult to coordinate, students in related programs may be able to collaborate on projects, sharing not only information, but also ideas and opinions. Here is one area where we can see the idea of the “collective expert” develop. This offers potential for classes like mine, because they are not common (there are only 3 in the entire Commonwealth of PA). I like the idea of students in Lehigh County being able to work with students in the programs in Lancaster and Centre Counties. The idea of wikis affords my students the opportunity to work with the students from these other areas, which would not otherwise be possible or practical. For more information, I thought the “How I use Wikis” page at: http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-i-use-wikis-what-do-you-do.html offered a great deal of insight into the potential of wikis.

As with blogs, wikis are not without their downsides. The fact that they are easily edited can pose a risk for dissemination of false or inaccurate information. Because a significant amount of student participation would most likely occur outside of the classroom, some students will have a tendency to “hang back” and participate less. I think this can be overcome by instructing the students on the concept of “significant contribution” and/or “constructive modification” as explained in the Wiki Solutions Manual (http://pc40s.pbwiki.com).