Why Wiki?

Why Wiki?

A community is like a ship: everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.

—Henrik Ibsen

I have created my Wiki and it was a fun and easy process. I can see fantastic applications for using this tool with secondary students.

Wenger (2000) states that ‘Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.’

This is exactly what we are doing in this course. We are each learning as we progress, through our passion for the subject and through each other. In our case, our intention is to learn, but Wegner also states that learning can be an ‘incidental outcome’.

Perhaps in a school setting, learning might be the ‘incidental outcome’!

Bruns and Humphreys (2005) point out that many of the benefits to students in collaborating and interacting during the creation of Wiki topics are derived from encountering other students’ viewpoints. These interactions are vital in providing experiences, views and stories which are different from their own. Students have the opportunity to experience interaction throughout the group.

This practice is very much in accordance with Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory which emphasises the collaborative nature of learning.

Students would hopefully be encouraged to participate in a professional and ethical manner, as the Wiki is available for all to access.

Best

Mia

References.

Bruns, A. & Humphreys, S. Wikis in Teaching & Assessment: The M/Cyclopedia Project

Retrieved July 25^th 2009 from http://snurb.info/files/Wikis%20in%20Teaching%20And%20Assessment.pdf

Wenger, E. (2000) Communities of Practice, a brief introduction. Retrieved July 24, 2009 from

http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm