Wikis

=Wikis=

Introduction; uses & benefits:
A wiki is a writing platform created by, contributed to, and maintained by a community of users. Information can be added or changed by anyone. Wiki users monitor content to help ensure the wiki conforms to the group norms. Wikis are publicly posted so anything you post to a wiki can be viewed by anyone. Probably the most well known wiki is Wikipedia, an open encyclopedia.

Wikis can be used for a multitude of purposes. Businesses are using them as a forum to coordinate and track group projects and to manage accumulated knowledge (Lisitski, 2008). They are being used in schools to encourage and enhance secondary language learners' experiences as well as writing instruction (Grant, 2006). Wikis are best known as group collaboration areas for people with common interests or hobbies.

Wikis help bridge the gap between the teachers of the "print paradigm" and the students of the "secondary-oral paradigm" of learning (Ferris, Wilder, 2006). Wikis are affordable and have multiple uses which make them appealing to schools and businesses (Grant, 2006). The use of wikis can increase the amount of collaborative work time completed by both students and teachers (Science of Spectroscopy, 2008).

Weaknesses & challenges:
Wikis present unique challenges for educators. Teachers must address the technical skills needed by students to successfully use wikis. They must also address the social and cultural practices unique to the collaborative work involved in using wikis. Often students do not have these prerequisite skills (Grant, 2006). In addition, some students are not comfortable with openly posting their writing on the web.

Example of application in online classroom:
There are many potential uses for wikis in an online class. A common use is project development with peer reviews. Students can work collaboratively in the wiki space on a project, edit, revise, and offer opinions to each other through the wiki. Using wikis collaboratively has been demonstrated in Assessment in Online Learning and Introduction to E-Learning courses at University of Wisconsin-Stout It is also used in face-to-face courses at universities like Brown and Columbia (Science of Spectroscopy, 2008).

Learning objective:
In designing an on-demand professional development course on behavior management for teachers in my building I plan on using PBWiki for teachers to post their final assignment. PBWiki is a good format for this as it is free or available for a nominal charge based on the level of services desired, one of it's intended audiences is the education field, allows unlimited page revisions, shows page history, and has e-mail notification of tips on ways to use the tool more effectively (wikimatrix, 2008). This assignment is for teachers to determine a measureable problem behavior for a particular student or their class, determine a replacement behavior, measureably identify a method of introducing this behavior and supporting it, and tracking the progress for a period of 4 to 6 weeks. By sharing this information in the PBWiki format teachers can see what others are doing, gain further ideas, share hints and insights, and track what works for themselves and others. Also it will allow me to assess whether they can really apply what they have been learning in the inservice.