week 8: Michelle's weekly reports and reflections

 

Hi!

So last week I briefly went over what google docs is and how it is great for collaborative work! I hope some of you have had the chance to check out the google docs slide that I have created J

This week I will be talking about yet another online collaborative tool. Yes, you can never have too many tools to choose from when we are talking about working with other people and increasing our knowledge. The collaborative tool that we will be looking at this week is wiki. Yup you’ve got it, like the infamous Wikipedia. 

What is wiki?

 Well to put it simple, it is an informational website that anyone can edit and save. It can be used for collaborative and is a document that has constant updates on information. Let me give you an example: You are really interested in dogs. So you decide to make a website that is specific for dogs. On this site you have decided to add information about different types of breeds, where does originated from and what dogs are useful for. Then you save all this information and it is now readily available for ANYONE to see! Not only is it available to anyone to see but it is available for ANYONE to edit and add their own information. So if Sam thinks that you have missed important details about dogs, he can add this information. And if he finds some information that might be incorrect about what you have added, then Sam can change that. 

It is important however to make sure you cite your information. Wikipedia is famous for it’s lack of credibility- which is not entirely true, much of the information on wiki is credible and proves so by adding references at the end of the page. This supports effective ways to use wiki in our learning environment. It is also important to think about how wiki can enable proper digital responsibilities and rights. Wiki allows you to have access to al information without being excluded from a group. Many times wiki cites the information (as mentioned above) as too not take away the credit from the author and to show that they did not just come up with the information themselves

Wiki and student learning

Wikis encourage shared knowledge according to  K12learning20 and growth. It also encourages independence in a sense because students learn to put information on a site by themselves, at their own liberty. It also encourages creativity because you can put any information that interests you. Just like the dog scenario above. Wiki is an easy way to learn and student will not get bored trying to look for the information because it is usually the first thing you see pop up on your web browser, thus saving the much needed time students require.

How is wiki different from the other collaborative tools I have looked at?

Wiki is different from blogs because only you can edit and add information to your blog. Wiki is different from google docs because it is open to anyone who has access to the information. Google docs requires you to have to share the information to others so that they are aware of the information. Wiki requires easy access. Wiki is different from evernote because it is not a place to take notes. It is a place to create knowledge. Also evernote is only for those who are invited or who have created the document. A man from Australia cannot just go look up your evernote but he can look up your wiki.

Wiki and my PLE

I will leave it up to you to decide where you would want to fit Wiki into your own PLE. I think if I could really do it, wiki could be put under ever single one of my categories because it is relevant to all of them!

Anyways that is al for this week.

Cheers.