Wikis Let the People Speak

(Via RLG Shelflife) World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee once lamented, "I wanted the Web to be. an interactive space where everybody can edit," not just point and click. That old fashioned spirit of true interactivity is alive and well in today's wikis. Derived from the Hawaiian word for "quick," wikis allow readers to instantly add or correct content, no password or prerequisites required. Thus, content is ego-less, time-less, and never finished, says Brian Lamb, project coordinator at the University of British Columbia. What about security? "Think of an open wiki space as a home that leaves its front door unlocked, but doesn't get robbed because the neighbors are all out on their front steps gossiping, keeping a friendly eye on the street, and never missing a thing," says Lamb. Sure, vandals can cause problems, but a wiki's open environment also encourages participation and a strong sense of common purpose, says Lamb. So there are usually more fixers than breakers, and wikis generally remain stable -- assuming that people see their value and are interested. While the encyclopedia Wikipedia is unquestionably the biggest and best-known wiki, perhaps the most common pedagogical use of wikis in education is to support writing instruction. At TeachingWiki.org, English professor Joe Moxley lists a number of the medium's strengths: they invigorate writing ("fun" and "wiki" are often associated), provide a low-cost but effective communication and collaboration tool, and promote the close reading and revision of drafts. For the full article read Educause Review (Sept-Oct 2004)

Posted by Tom on September 16, 2004