Wikis

Where did the name come from? - WikiWiki is Hawaiian for 'quick'. A complete etymology of the term, begins with the invention by Ward Cunningham to track software patterns for reuse in 1995. It's history with major developments is maintained a Ward's Wiki History page

Pedagogical uses

The educational value of wikis is currently being assessed. Some indications of they might support student learning is anchored in part in the "wisdom of crowds" - that is, groups of people working together are often more effective, productive and insightful than brilliant individuals. Groups are often better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions and even predicting the future (http://www.profetic.org:16080/dossiers/article.php3?id_article=973). Examples of wiki-based community projects include: WikiMedia Foundation Projects (such as Wiktionary, WikiNews, and WikispecieS), EvoWiki (a reader-built encyclopedia of evolution, biology, and origins), SEEK (Science Environment for Ecological Knowledge), Wikibooks (a collection of open-content textbooks that anyone can edit),Wikiversity (a free, open learning environment and research community), OOPS (An Opensource Opencourseware Prototype System for lecture translation at MIT), and the WikiTravelGuide.

  • knowledge building "over time" (through versions and groups);
  • progressive problem-solving (particularly open-ended problems, e.g. Brereton et al, 2003) and even problem redefinition (Scardamalia et al., 1994).
    For example, Wikis could work well for a COP (communities of practice) whose goal is to develop solutions to common problems over time in order to improve practice (Godwin-Jones, 2003);
  • explaining increasingly diverse and contrary ideas, as well as examining the relatedness of ideas from diverse contexts (Scardamalia et al, 1994);
  • combining, synthesizing and evaluating definitions and terminology across disciplines (Fountain, 2005c; Scardamalia et al, 1994; Brereton et al., 2003);
  • questioning underlying causes and principles (ibid. Scardamalia, et.al, 1994) ;
  • critically reading, and responding in a constructive and public way, to others' work;
  • learning how to add both nuance and complexity to concepts in a given field, through systematic engagement and analysis with work produced by more advanced students, specialists and experts (Fountain, 2005c; Brereton et al., 2003); and
  • learning to observe deeply, stereotype less, and avoid premature judgment (Brereton et al., 2003).

References

Wikis represent an example of "community constructivism" which has potential for university education. Characteristics of this pedagogical potential...

Blog on wiki use in education by Stewart Mader

Quick Tech Overview of the MIT AC Wikis Service

  • Uses Atlassian's Confluence - license allows unlimited users and spaces per instance
  • Authorizations for each space are managed by a designated space administrator or Moira- based (central grouper) space administrator group.
  • Apache, Tomcat, mod_jk connector
  • Modifications:
    • Uses MIT certificates for authorization; also accepts username/password login for outside participants
    • Uses Moira groups for space authorizations in order to distribute user management functions to space administrators
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