This week's workshop has really been an eye-opener for me. I now know that 'Wikipedia' is merely one example of a wiki and that 'wiki' refers to a collection of inter-linked web pages that allow the editing of materials.This means that, there is no such thing as a final product of a 'wiki', as it is always a work-in-progress.It is definitely accurate to then say that wikis rely on a pool of collective intelligence which is distributed intelligence collaborated by many.
Wikis if used appropriately are beneficial in education. Collaborative information learning is presented as 'tag clouds' on web pages, which highlight the descriptive terms used frequently by users. By clicking on the words, users are brought to another web page that contains definitions and examples of the term. Another interesting fact of the wikis is that anyone with information, new perspective and knowledge can share their thoughts. The 'history' function on the web page which allows past pages to be recovered minimises vandalism or dispute of content. In this manner, students (possibly at a university level) can use wikis as a platform to draft and work with their peers collaboratively, while extending one another's thought process and make changes to it in the light of feedback from teachers and other users.
Knowledge is collaborative. However, one of the dangers of wikis, is anyone from anywhere is allowed to add content onto the world wide web, just like a huge jigsaw puzzle. Online materials should be always viewed with a 'pinch of salt'. Users, especially students need to be aware that just because people agree with an idea, it does not necessarily mean its true. Users need to develop Information literacy, where they have the skills to evaluate and compare ideas from various sources.
Yes, I was surprised when Mark mentioned that Wikipedia is not the one and only 'wiki.' Watching the time lapse video of how a Wikipedia page is constructed was fascinating...I have started checking out the history section of some Wikipedia pages I visit...
ReplyDeleteI have begun to do that too, Kris! :) Which reminds me what the speaker at the Cyber Safety said about the student who went into a Wikipedia page and altered the facts, so that his classmates would get a lower mark and he would be the top student. (As it is becoming a trend for students to 'copy & paste' information from Wikipedia to their assignments, without reading it for accuracy)
ReplyDeleteDo we applaud his technological skills or reprimand him for his behaviour? Something to think about, hey!
Well, Roshini, the story from the cybersafety seminar certainly provides a good illustration of why it's useful to check out the history pages on Wikipedia!
ReplyDeleteBtw, I've just realised that the blog URL you gave me initially pointed to your first post, and not to your blog as a whole. Because of that, I hadn't seen your newer postings till today. However, I've just altered the URL on the class blogroll so that I (and everyone else) will be taken straight to your newest post from now on.
Oh dear! I didn't realise I sent you the wrong link. And here I was thinking you only posted comments on selective blogs! Phew! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sorting it out, Mark.