wiki – Reflections and e-Portfolio ETEC565

This experience with Wikis was really valuable for me. I have always been drawn to the thought of collaborative creation and the idea that people want to share their expertise with others. One could make a logical argument that asking people to contribute to a document that had no ownership, without financial incentive, and modifiable by everyone would be foolish and the quality of work that would result would be poor. Today we are fortunate to find that collaborative creations such as Wikis are flourishing.

The Wiki project with the class was a nice change from the traditional multi-threaded forums. Having a shared single page for the discussion became crowded at first glance, but eventually rules and conventions developed that brought order to the madness. Some advanced members of the group shared wisdom and links regarding wiki etiquette and the scaffolding helped to develop skills in the rest of us.

There was an issue that hindered the ability of the document to truly function like a Wiki should. Some authors attached their names to their contributions in the actual wiki document. The practice is understandable, as participants would like credit for their work, and may be indicative of a generation of schooling where names needed to be attached to be rewarded with credit. This practice is detrimental to a wiki, which should be able to grow, adapt and develop with users, as it creates a situation where other users are hesitant to modify the signed work of someone else.

For a Wiki to harness its true power, authors must acknowledge that their work become part of the collective project and resist from personalizing it or attaching names for credit.

“It is amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares about who gets the credit.”
– Robert Yates

In my classroom, the most impactful ‘sighting’ of Social media is in the form of Wikipedia. This resource is constantly referenced to fact check, by both myself and my students, to inquire into topics that are beyond the textbook or collective knowledge of the classroom. Although as a class we do not often contribute to the actual wikipedia pages, there is a general understanding that these projects are collaborative and have been created by a wide collection of people around the world. I feel this helps give credibility to the concept of constructivism and the understanding that knowledge is created through the efforts of many.

Opportunities
– Individuals can contribute to the collective knowledge

Challenges
– There can be a hesitation to use social media due to the persistent idea that it lacks credibility due to its collectivist roots.