Wikis as workspaces

The wiki space experience feels much more collaborative and connected than a threaded discussion space experience. Wikis have the advantage of a less defined workspace whereby collaboration is fluid. Individuals can add, delete or modify information regardless of who originally posted it. The “discussion” tab facilitates a layer whereby dialogue can be documented regarding the content of the actual wiki page (not utilized in this activity as a two layered process but is facilitated by wiki nonetheless). What I like about wikis is that a group could initially write 500 words, for example, on their wiki page and then engage in discussion, edit their wiki page and still end up with a 500 word product. This is unlike a threaded discussion whereby content can’t be replaced rather it just keeps getting added like building blocks. The “history” tab in wiki also puts it at an advantage because collaborators can view the exact changes made by group members and can even compare versions or engage a collaborator in private discussion by clicking on their username.

In finding challenges about working in a collaborative wiki space, I reflect on my experience using solely wiki for my ETEC 510 group design project. The fluid nature of wiki and the ease in which edits can be made leaves the potential for collaborators to take edits personally as their work could be there one instant and then gone the next (although it can be restored). I also found that with all of the collaborative and communicative options (ie. User talk, individual discussion pages, actual entry pages, etc.) undertaking a group project in wiki that involves many pages requires a great deal of organization and structure as to how communication should take place (ie. Agree to leave all messages on the discussion page of the main page, each user should color code their edits etc.).

The main reason I enjoy working collaboratively in wikis is that a wiki affords a continuously changing workspace that has first draft, second draft, rough copy, final copy etc. built in. The document itself progressed to a final product – that is the nature of the collaboration. Wikis have a very open sense of communication and even after being absent from a wiki for a while, the “history” tab and discussion pages allow one to jump right back in in a more natural manner than reading through a stack of threaded discussion posts.