I created the above SWOT analysis to assist me in reflecting on how the use of a wiki can assist learning. Looking at the diagram it is easily noticeable that the benefits of using a wiki is far greater than the negative aspects.
Wiki's are a great tool in bringing learner's together and I would describe it as a classroom in the clouds. It is not however an ordinary classroom of 20-30 students. A wiki is a public space and can have a number of users from anywhere in the world! This is what makes it so interesting to use. Students can have a science professor from a university in England, contribute information to students on their wiki, or provide feedback on their posts. As stated in the SWOT analysis, a wiki is a great way of gathering relevant, interesting resources into one page, using links or pasting images and videos. This allows easy access to a mountain of information. Compared to a blog, wikis allow more interaction between students as they are all authors and editors of the page and can correct their peers, delete or add relevant comments etc. It is a very useful tool for teachers to post quizzes or sample exam questions so students can all work together to understand and solve the question. For our ICT course we had to collaboratively answer sample quiz questions on a wiki, I found this activity very useful as we were able to exchange ideas, thoughts and correct each others mistakes.
I created my own wiki space this week My Wiki Project, and explored what I could do with it. I first created a project called 'Space & Planets Science Project'. Then within this project I identified 3 teams - Earth, Jupiter and Mars. I created a page for each team and then posted a youtube clip on each page about each of the planets. Then I added some questions to answer, guiding students on where to start from. The purpose of setting up this wiki was to allow students to work in groups to put together a science project on space and planets. Creating each page directs students to the group they belong to and allows proper organisation of information. This is just a small example of what I have come up with, but there is so much you can do on a wiki. I did have some trouble setting up the pages so they link to the project, but in the end I managed to do it.
Despite the negatives mentioned in my analysis, I will definitely be using wikis in my classroom. With any online activity there is always the issues of bullying, losing information and technical problems. Cyber-bullying can be an issue when using such tools in a school context, as students may write offensive comments about another student, or upload an image or video to the space. Although the teacher may monitor this space regularly it is impossible for them to monitor it every hour, minute of the day, and the damage may already be done. The Education Queensland Authority has developed guidelines for parents and caregivers on Cyber Safety and Cyber bullying which can be accessed from here . To deal with these teachers need to educate their students about the ethical guidelines and also monitor the information they are posting or writing. Students should not be revealing too much information about themselves or others while uses these online spaces. They should be adhering to referencing guidelines and copyright laws when they are using other peoples work, videos or ideas. As for losing information, students need to be very cautious of what they delete when they are editing.
Overall, reflecting on the wiki I can see how the learning theories of connectivism and constructivism are demonstrated in this ICT tool. Students are connecting with other students, collecting information and constructing their own learning through the guidance of their teachers. This activity allows students to build on their knowledge with new ideas through interaction in a shared social environment.
REFERENCES:
Department of Education, Training and Employment, (2012), Cybersafety and cyberbullying- a guide for parents and teachers. Retrieved from: http://education.qld.gov.au/studentservices/behaviour/qsaav/docs/cyberbullying-cybersafetyprintfriendlyguide.pdf
Horizon Project, (2010). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from: http://horizonproject.wikispaces.com/Student+Code+of+Ethics
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