Wiki Reflection Blog

Beginning Use of the Wiki

I had never worked with a wiki before participating in this project, but I have created a few websites using WordPress.com, including this blog site, so the technical aspects of working with a wiki was not too difficult for me. Initially, I thought that using the wiki for collaboration would prove to be valuable. While I was able to post comments and receive feedback from my colleagues, I truly found the wiki format a bit more cumbersome than using other platforms, mainly Google Docs. Our group decided to work on a Google Doc and then copy and past to the wiki. We used the wiki to collaborate some but actually ended up discussing primarily via email and the Google Doc comment itself. I suppose we could have used the wiki to collaborate just the same. I think our project choices boiled down to familiarity and time constraints. Most in our group had worked with Google before and were primarily concerned with getting our research completed on time. However, I would like to add that the wiki is a great resource for students under age 13 who would not have access to Google docs unless they lied about their birthday (Google requires a person to be 13 in order to use). So, I could see the value in using a wiki with my middle school students for collaborative work.

Middle Use of the Wiki

As time passed and the wiki format became more familiar, I felt that our group probably should have collaborated more using the wiki instead of email. Email can get overwhelming when everyone is commenting back and forth. However, a downside to having to use the wiki is that it is not so user friendly with a mobile device.  You also must remember to check the wiki often in order to follow comments, whereas email comes directly to you, especially if you have email on your phone. One aspect I discovered in the midst of the project was the ability to set up an RSS feed from our group wiki. This was definitely valuable as whenever I logged onto my laptop and if there were changes to the page, I was updated via my RSS reader. An RSS feed is a great tool for keeping up-to-date with any websites a person might follow.

Overall, using the wiki has added to my tool belt of technical skills. Since I work in an Engineering and Technology classroom in which students are always participating in collaborative projects, I will probably try the wiki approach in a future assignment. I think it will be interesting to see students’ perspectives on using the tool.

End of using the Wiki

I have contributed to our group wiki in several ways. I was not the creator of our wiki but have certainly made suggestions and edits along the way. I did create our Final Exam page by making a Google Form and then embedding it into the page. Users will be able to actually “take” our exam and then view the correct answers straight from the wiki instead of just “reading” it. I also made suggestions to create separate pages for each part of our Literature Review instead of posting it all on one page. Each of our group members also posted their own portions to the wiki. My part included “Security Concerns” which included links to a website and an image. Because I am familiar with website creation, inserting an image to the wiki was not that difficult.

In the end, using the wiki has proved to be an enjoyable experience. I appreciate any new methods I can learn that will help my students gain 21^st century skills. In researching and sharing information about BYOD, I have learned a great deal about cooperation and collaboration in distance education. I was concerned at first considering this was my first experience but have been pleasantly surprised with the outcome.