Web 2.0: Wikipedia and Wikis
I have used Wikis, like Wikipedia and teacher made ones,
many times both in and out of the classroom environment. And like most MS ELA teachers, I have
typically steered my students away form using them as a primary source. Like most everything else in technology (and
Star Wars), I have found them to have both a “light side” and a” dark side”.
The “Light Side” of Wikis and Wikipedia
· Student generated material: students
have to think about what they are putting on the Wiki. It engages them.
· Wikis can be thought provoking: Is
this accurate? How can I tell? What would I change?
· Collaborative Approach: Researching a
topic, students can change the entry to reflect current thinking or newer
information and to reflect, interact, and collaborate with students within the
classroom, or across the world!
· Flexibility: Wikis can be as big or
small as you need. A small one for an individual class or something as
worldwide as Wikipedia! You can tailor
it to meet your needs.
· Informational and Collaborative Push and
Pull of Information: Make and post information,
research, thoughts and notes from a variety of people, regarding books, backgrounds
and sources.
· Global Access: Students can read and post
from virtually anyplace they have internet access and they are not restricted
to school hours. This is especially good
if the student is sick!
The “Dark Side”
· If you don’t have experience building
a Wiki for your classroom, it can be a time-consuming and cumbersome adventure. Time seems to always be the enemy of teachers
and investing that many hours with the hope for dubious educational returns
will frighten many teachers.
· Anyone and Students can post anything
– as in anything, and it may not be true!
Take for example this entry by Arthur Butz (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Butz). Professor Butz is a professor of engineering
at a prominent college, but also a Holocaust denier. Students would
YEARLY find this entry on Wikipedia and cite it as a fact – as evidence that
the Holocaust never happened! Regardless
of all the evidence to the contrary, Mr. Butz’s entry garnered the most
attention in class and on our blogs, erroneous information as it is. It wasn’t until 2017 that Amazon at least acknowledge
that his book on the subject was untrue and took it, and similar books, off
their web site for sale.
· Also like blogs, the number of student
responses could become overwhelming in larger classrooms. For example, I had
134 total students last year; at 20 or so responses a piece, that’s a lot of
grading!
Wiki Mindfulness
There are ways teachers can combat “The Dark Side” of
Wikis:
· TRUST that the Wiki you are building
will be worth it. Look and think “down
the road” to the educational dividends that you will get when you meet your
students where they are – digital citizens!
· I have seen the benefits building and
maintaining a classroom Wiki and have no qualms putting in the time, but would
suggest doing it over the summer where you can do it at a more leisurely pace.
· To combat possible incorrect entries,
teachers must moderate everything that goes on the Wiki in a timely fashion, as
well as give feedback and make corrections.
· I am a BIG fan of making the Wiki and
other collaborative web based projects a closed group; i.e.: make the group
private. This is primarily for the
younger students as they are just learning to discern correct information form
incorrect information and many may not know how to make sense out of
information that is just blatantly inaccurate (e.g.: the Arthur Butz Wiki entry
about the Holocaust never happening; or understanding primary sources, etc.)
· Participants must have a valid email
or use their real names so the teacher knows who is whom! No nicknames or anonymity
allowed.
Link to Wiki:
ISTE Standards Met: Empowered Learner, Digital Citizen,
Knowledge Constructor, Creative
Communicator and Global Collaborator
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