"What is a Wiki?"

"Wiki" is a "website that allows the site visitors to add and edit content. Many wikis are open to the public and require no registration." ("Wiki", January 2017, Techopedia). Ward Cunningham developed his "Wiki Wiki Web" in 1994. A little fun fact -- this idea came to Cunningham while he was in the Honolulu International Airport. "Wiki" in Hawaiian means "quick". 

"Wikipedia", "Wikitravel", and "Wikispecies" are just three of the numerous examples of wikis that are widely used everyday. It is truly amazing that there are so many kinds of wikis! I plan to look on a few of these myself after I am finished with this assignment!!

"Wikis and Education"

Wikis have become quite popular in today's classrooms. Since collaboration is an integral part of education, teachers are using "wikis" to enhance today's learning experiences. 

"Wikis can increase educational productivity:

-Wikis support collaborative learning because Wikis can enable groups of students to work together to solve a problem, complete a project, etc.
-Using Wikis effectively may help your students reach Bloom’s higher-order skills, e.g., creating, evaluation, etc.
-Wikis promote active learning where students can actively participate in educational activities like writing, discussing, etc.
-Wikis can help you create interactive learning environments
-Wikis can help you promote open dialogue and encourage community building
-Wikis can help you prepare your students for the 21st-century marketplace by developing digital literacy skills
-Wikis can improve students’ writing skills

Advantages of wikis include:

-Offer content access at all times, no matter where the user is located
-Support many forms of media, including URLs, photos, videos, and music
-Let the user view every change and entry for group assignments
-Collect information from student groups
-Allow for collaboration in writing of assignment or course reviews
-Offer a highly useful resource for teamwork and conversation at a low cost
-Allow for detailed reading, modification, and recording of each draft
-Foster collaboration between teachers and students in the design and implementation of uncomplicated webpages
-Encourage peer review and editing in group assignments
-Allow for collaborative authoring of projects and assignments
-Offer an alternative to traditional presentation tools like PowerPoint
-Provide an environmentally-friendly alternative to paper-based assignments
-Allow for easy tracking of deadline compliance thanks to date and time stamps
-Show all revisions, offering options like reverting to former versions and ability to undo changes" (Serhat Kurt, 2/6/20, "Wikis in Education: How Wikis Are Being Used In The Classroom". Educational Technology)

So, what do you think?? Would you "wiki" in your classroom???

========================================================

"Wiki" (January 25, 2017). Techopedia

Kurt, Serhat (February 6, 2020). "Wikis In Education: How Wikis Are Being Used In The Classroom". Educational Technology