Wikis

Retrieved from: http://socialweblearning.blogspot.ca/p/wikis.html

This week's exploration is all about Wikis,

Wikis are another great collaborative tool, they vary from what we discussed last week about Google Docs but still have features that make for a great collaborative experience. When compared to Google Docs, I somehow see wikis as having an edge for long term ongoing projects.  The fact that others can also add to your group's work adds value to the learning experience.

The video found by Common Craft found here gives a very simplistic ideal of how wikis can be used to collaborate.  Despite not being a big fan of their style of video, it provides a good simplistic introduction.  I personally don't think that I would use a wiki to collaborate on a camping list but can see how it works better than Email.  However, despite how simple it looks and how much faster it may be, human nature has clearly shown us that how we sometimes rather stick with what we know or prefer - case in point, many of us will text back and forth for 15 minutes to exchange information that would have taken 2 minutes to exchange by calling each other.  I am guilty of that as well but  I can certainly see how it would be a great tool for collaborating on a group project and aim to use it in the near future. 

I can see this being used to prepare for an exam for example, everyone pics a topic or chapter and posts his summary on a wiki. Everyone must then review at least one or two of their peer's content to ensure nothing is missing (proof it - peer review) and voilà, collaborative studying where everyone participates, is engaged and therefore retaining more of the knowledge. What's even better is that now it is accessible to others to learn from online.

Similarly, Richard Bryne, one of the educational bloggers that I follow on my Feedly, discussed the topic of students using text messages to study - read more here.  Each creates a database of questions and then quiz each other on the material.  This of course is a great way to get people so study collaboratively.  It engages by making them do it in a way that is appealing and turns what would normally be the chief distraction into the learning mechanism.  Although I personally prefer the concept mentioned earlier about using a wiki, I did previously mention that people don't always do what is simplest or easier so maybe this is a great way to engage learners.  It is proven that learning from one another helps us better understand and retain information so either method is sure to help in some way. It would be interesting to have a group of learners try one method and another try the other method then give both groups the same test, compare results and have a discussion about their experience. Not every study technique works for everyone but I'd be interested to see which appeals to most and which seem to yield the best results.

Finally, I must say that I've always been one to dread collaboration, especially in an online context but the collaborative tools I have discovered, explored and had the chance to use in the last few weeks have really changed my perspective.  Group work will always present challenges but many great online tools are helping ease the process by making it easy for multiple learners to work together on a project.

What have your online collaborative group project experiences been like? What is your favorite collaborative tool? Will having learned more about it encourage you to give it a try? In what original ways have you used these tools in the past?

Share your ideals below!

Mat