Wikis: Pros and Cons for Adult Learners

Wikis are public or private web sites that are easily editable by one or more users Hazari, North, & Moreland, 2009; Lari, 2011).   Users can share and search for information in collaborative space.  They can also work on projects and exchange information, hence, building knowledge and learning to participate as part of a group in a online learning platform (Hazari, North, & Moreland, 2009; Lari, 2011).

Wiki Sites:

Wikipedia 

Wikispaces  

Educational wikis 

A Collaborative Learning Experience

The main benefit of wikis in comparison to other types of online learning platforms (i.e. blogs, discussion boards) is that “wikis are specifically designed for multiple authors and group collaboration” (West & West, 2009, p. 4).  Multiple ideas can be integrated into a single wiki.  “...the wiki opens the door to brainstorming, group problem solving, critical evaluation, synthesis, idea refinement, and group consensus” (West & West, 2009, p. 5).  Considering this, group wikis allow for democratic practice in an educational setting through negotiation and consensus.  They leave the power in the hands of learners who may have distinct social backgrounds, making the entire learning process more culturally relevant (Boulos & Wheeler, 2007; Collin & Heaney, 2001).

Wikis allow for a shared understanding of a topic instead of the understanding or viewpoint of just one person (West & West, 2009).  My experience creating a wiki involved gathering information about an adult education pioneer and presenting the information to classmates.  I had one partner for this project and we compiled and edited all aspects of our wiki page together.  She had a few more strengths with technology that she contributed, while I worked a lot on the written content.  We communicated entirely by email and edits to the wiki to accomplish our project.  Other classmates commented on the final outcome of the wiki and added to the dialogue and knowledge construction of the project.

How Do Wikis Helps Students Learn?

• Active participation
• Interaction
• Dialogue
• Knowledge construction
• Critical reflection
• Meaning-making
• Self-direction
• Teamwork
• Negotiation
• Ethics, responsibility, and reputation

Difficulties and Possibilities

As a technology, wikis do not require users to know HTML for editing and formatting (West & West, 2009).  However, I believe even a beginner’s knowledge of HTML would greatly and quickly increase the dynamics of a wiki and keep out the kinks that are sometimes seen when this knowledge is lacking.

Like many other types of social software, wikis can also be biased in their view of information (as cited in Lari, 2011).  However, democratic processes of multiple editors may also help to eliminate some bias that would come with individual viewpoints.  
 

There are many possibilities to consider before starting a wiki.  Will you use it as an individual to provide information to a class?  Will it be a collaborative effort driven by you and your colleagues to present information publicly?  Or will you use it as a learning platform to guide your students as they acquire knowledge?  Many of the resources used in this post will provide you with ideas on where to begin.

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Boulos, M. N. K., & Wheeler, S. (2007).  The emerging Web 2.0 social software: An enabling suite of sociable technologies in health and healthcare education.  Health Information and Libraries Journal, 24 (1), 2-23.
 

Collin, S. A. J. & Heaney, T. W.  (2001).  Negotiating the democratic classroom.  New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, (91), 29-37. 

Hazari, S., North, A., Moreland, D. (2009). Investigating pedagogical value of Wiki technology. Journal of information systems education. 20 (2). 187-198.

Lari, P.  (2011).  The use of wikis for collaboration in higher education.  In K. P. King & T. D. Cox (Eds.), The professor’s guide to taming technology (pp. 89-104).  Charlotte, NC:  Information Age Publishing, Inc.

West, J. A. & West, M. L.  (2009).  Using Wikis for online collaboration: The power of the read-write web.  San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass.

Blogging: Pros and Cons for Adult Learners

Blogging and discussion boards have many similarities for adult learners.  They both provide interactivity and open communication between multiple users.  Facilitators of these learning platforms may start and stimulate the discussion, while learners are allowed to develop critical thoughts on the topics and contribute with insights from their own experience (Carter, 2011; Oravec, 2002).

In today’s modern world, many people communicate through technology.  Face-to-face interaction is becoming less of a priority.  For adult learners in formal, nonformal, and informal settings online learning is often the platform.  Blogging is a unique tool for moving beyond discussion boards and taking on a more personalized, organized approach.  It easily allows users to incorporate links, photos, and videos into their blogs, all sensibly mapped out with their topic of the moment.  Viewers can leave comments to further conversation and also be directed to additional information through the links provided (Carter, 2011; Oravec, 2002).  Although these tools are available to a certain extent through discussion boards, they tend to get lost in the jumble of messages and I personally feel that we can sometimes neglect to utilize them.  Part of what blogging is all about is sharing ideas and resources (Carter, 2011; Oravec, 2002).

Blogs can be more individualized and allow the creator to take control of the content.  They are basically online journals or diaries (http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g).  Blogs are more personal than discussion boards, but, both allow users to collect their thoughts and gather resources to support their ideas as well as create a sense of community; both are very participatory and interactive in nature (Carter, 2011; Oravec, 2002).  However, according to Santos’ (2011) we need to carefully plan where and when blogs are incorporated into education so they do not, “interfere with the existing standard and become a hindrance rather than a facilitator of learning” (Santos, 2011, p. 16).

All in all, blogging activities are a unique tool for adult learners to reflect and construct knowledge while also giving them the ability to express themselves on a personal and professional level in a socially and technologically grounded format (Carter, 2011).

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Carter, T. J. (2011).  Blogging as reflectivepractice in the graduate classroom.  InK. P. King & T. D. Cox (Eds.), The professor’sguide to taming technology (pp. 89-104). Charlotte, NC:  Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Oravec, J. A. (2002).  Bookmarking theworld:  Weblog applications ineducation.  Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 45 (7), 616-621. 

Santos, A. N. E. (2011).  Blogs as a learningspace: Creating text of talks.  Contemporary issues in education research, 4(6), 15-19.