Most of the articles I researched and reviewed dealt with the effectiveness of using wikis as a tool for collaborative

projects. One particular article included a study conducted using 115 graduate students (only 92 completed the survey). It dealt specifically with the perception of learning with wikis and provided some rather interesting results. The results suggest that the students perceived wikis to be beneficial as far as enhancing knowledge building among students, but they did not feel that wikis contributed much in actually learning the subject matter. Although they enjoyed the learning process more than with conventional teaching methods, they didnt necessarily learn more ( Chang,
Morales-Arroyo, Than, Tun, & Wang 2010). I thought this was rather intriguing. It seems

to be common thought that whatever captures the students interests is more likely to be retained. However, that didnt seem to be the case in this study. I think the key is figuring out how to actively engage students and enhance their learning at the same time. I do believe this is possible through the proper use of teaching with wikis. Another article talked about the pressures of incorporating Web 2.0 technology into the curriculum, more specifically into teaching daily English-Language writing lessons with primary students. This case study involved a group of 5th grade students and their teacher in Hong Kong. English was their second language, and the study was used to explore the challenges and potential benefits that a wiki may bring to them. The results of the study showed that the students enjoyed using the wiki and commented how it helped them to work better as a team, write better, encouraged peer-to-peer interaction, and facilitated online group work. Both the students and their teacher perceived the exchange of comments through a wiki platform as beneficial to their collaboration and

construction of their group writing. Among the eight groups observed in this 5th grade class, those active groups that spent more time working on their project tended to produce higher writing scores (Woo, M., Chu, S., Ho, A., & Xuanxi 2011). This article also talked in detail about how using wikis in writing with primary students is a great way to scaffold lessons. I found it interesting that the higher scores were produced by those who put more time into their work. That would be a statistic I would like to report to my class.

A third article describes the co-evolution model that attempts to examine the process of learning and knowledge building by working on wikis (Kimmerle et al., 2011). What I loved most about this article was that it gave great suggestions on how educators should use a wiki. The authors basically explain that a tool is only great if you, the teacher, make it great. The article explains that if you start your students with an empty wiki, it doesnt allow for the student to link knowledge to available content. On the other hand, starting them with a complete wiki may deter any students from participating because everything they need has already been made available to them. The best scenario would be to start the students with a partially complete wiki, allowing for the students to actively participate. They can find information they may not have known, edit information they know is incorrect, and even settle controversies (Kimmerle,
Moskaliuk, & Cress 2011). Conflict isnt always necessarily bad. In fact, I think it is

essential to teach our students, especially if monitored correctly. This article dealt with an issue that is prevalent in education: How do we know if we are making our assignments to easy or too hard? Another article I read aimed to answer a simple

question: What do students do and not do when writing collaboratively? A study was done on 60 Open University of Israel graduate students, and their task was to, collaboratively, build a wiki glossary of key class concepts. Two main findings were reported: in accord with previous research, students most frequently add content to a wiki rather than delete existing text; and contrary to previous research, students modify existing texts to a greater extent than previously reported (Meishar-Tal & Gorsky 2010). The study tracked what each particular student added, edited, and deleted over the course of the assignment. It stated that it would be a good way to track the personalities and individual learning styles of your students. I believe this study shows the importance of planning and assigning work that is not only appropriate for all students, but also gives them the opportunity for their learning styles and personalities to shine through.

Prior to this course, I have never had any experience with a wiki. Of course, I had used Wikipedia many times, but I never created my own wiki or used it as a tool in my classroom. The reason I chose it for this paper was simply because I have quickly grown to love this tool, and I think it is awesome that it can be used for elementary school students up to graduate students, and even in the professional world. One of the articles I read stated it best. The simplicity, flexibility and openness of wikis provide higher education with new opportunities for developing online interaction in a way which has not been possible before (Su & Beaumont 2010). I think wikis can be used in so many ways. In doing my research for this paper, I came across extremely creative ways to use wikis in education, and I plan to utilize these in my room next year. One of

my favorite ideas came from a teacher who divided his class into groups of 3-5 students. Each group was assigned a wiki to create, which promotes teamwork and collaboration. They were also assigned another wiki to edit, which helps with editing/writing skills, as well as being able to give and receive constructive feedback. Other teachers use it to post homework and important events, which I think is a great way to make sure all students have access to the information. Additionally, others use it to display student work, post the school newspaper, and simply to enhance their students ability to use technology. The ideas are endless, and I think using wikis will be a blast next year!

After creating a wiki for this class, I feel like I have a good grasp on how to implement it in my room, but I plan to do much more experimenting first. My personal reaction to this Web 2.0 tool is that I think it is fantastic. As everything in education does, it has its benefits and, of course, it also has its downfalls. On the whole, I think it is a great way to get students exposed to the technology that they will need in the real world, and I believe it is more of a hands-on approach to learning. The students are actively engaged in the learning process, and they are held accountable for the contributions, or lack of, for that matter. There are so many different ways that wikis can be implemented into any curriculum, and I think the students will benefit in ways that a traditional textbook cant teach.

I believe the biggest advantage to a wiki is the fact that it allows for anyone with a web browser and internet connection to add, edit, or delete information. In this day and age

where life is so fast-paced and nobody can seem to find the time to meet face-to-face, wikis make it possible for students and professionals to collaboratively work on and produce projects. In addition, there is no software involved, so there is also no cost (unless, of course, you upgrade). In education, wikis are great for teachers because they can assign projects outside of the classroom, ensuring that each child plays their role in the project. This can be done by monitoring what each particular child has contributed. In addition to these advantages, everything done on a wiki is saved, so there is no risk of losing work. It is a great (and much simpler) way to share ideas, papers, or important events than emailing. You dont have to worry about emailing large files to a bunch of people. Instead, you can create a wiki and post it once for all to see. It is possible to only open your wiki up to a specific group of people, so there is no need to worry about privacy. Finally, it is a fantastic way to keep in touch with parents and keep them up to speed on homework assignments and other important events going on in the classroom.

Unfortunately, all good things have to have something wrong with them. Some of the disadvantages to wikis are that they do require an internet connection. Although this is the 21st Century, I have many students who do not have access to the internet and who dont even own a computer. Even though, it is a great tool to use for collaboration or information, these students would still miss out unless I used class time. In addition, although it is a time saver as far as getting people together, it does cut down on the all important face-to-face interaction we miss out on so often. Another disadvantage is that even though you can make a wiki password protected, there is still a chance someone

can hack into it. In addition, wikis do open up many avenues for plagiarism. While you can monitor how much work a student is doing, it would be more difficult to monitor whether a student is waiting for someone else to post before they steal their hard work. One final disadvantage is that because anyone has the ability to edit a wiki that is open to the public, it may become unorganized, repetitive, or even untrue. It is very important that the person keeping up with it does a good job and stays on top of it. There are advantages and disadvantages to everything, but I do believe that the benefits do outweigh the risks when it comes to wikis.

How are wikis going to evolve and impact education? I strongly believe that wikis are going to be a staple for every classroom teacher in the near future. Teaching our students to use wikis will not only allow them opportunities to work together, but it will provide them with real-world skills and real-world problem solving strategies, such as working with others, accepting criticism, and resolving conflict. I read about using wikis to create electronic portfolios for students. Each student would have their own page that they could access whenever and wherever they wanted. They could build on their page, edit it, and receive feedback from the teacher as they are working throughout the year. Finally, wikis have the ability to change the idea of individual learning to cooperative learning. There are still so many teachers caught up on the idea that anything assessed must be done so individually. Wikis, however provide the best of both worlds. Individuals are responsible for their roles, but other people aid them in getting to where they need to be. The use of wikis promotes critical thinking and self reflection. Others have the opportunity to critique a classmates work, while providing

positive feedback. Wikis allow students to share information that they know, as well as gain knowledge that they may not have been able to discover on their own. In my humble opinion, the use of wikis in the classroom is a win-win for all involved.

References Chang, Y., Morales-Arroyo, M., Than, H., Tun, Z., & Wang, Z. (2010). Collaborative learning in wikis. Education For Information, 28(2-4), 291-303. Kimmerle, J., Moskaliuk, J., & Cress, U. (2011). Using Wikis for Learning and Knowledge Building: Results of an Experimental Study. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 14(4), 138-148. Meishar-Tal, H., & Gorsky, P. (2010). Wikis: what students do and do not do when writing collaboratively. Open Learning, 25(1), 25-35. doi:10.1080/02680510903482074 Su, F., & Beaumont, C. (2010). Evaluating the use of a wiki for collaborative learning. Innovations In Education & Teaching International, 47(4), 417-431. doi:10.1080/14703297.2010.518428 Woo, M., Chu, S., Ho, A., & Xuanxi, L. (2011). Using a Wiki to Scaffold Primary-School Students' Collaborative Writing. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 14(1), 43-54.