Wikis are easy to use and provide a great forum for collaborative learning. Here is a link to a wiki I have created, which provides an overview of De Bono's Thinking Hats learning theory.
In a maths context, one way to use the wiki would be as a collaborative tool to solve complex math problems. Students could contribute ideas or each perform steps of a calculation. However, wikis may be a little more difficult to use for math than other subjects, as mathematical equations etc. would be difficult to input. In terms of using the wiki for science, I love the idea of creating a collaborative text book.
In terms of supporting safe and ethical use of the wiki, I would work with the class to develop a set of rules to work by. As the students will be owners and editors of the wiki, they also should have ownership over the rules and regulations applied. The set of rules could even be uploaded as a page of the wiki to serve as a constant reminder to students. A good thing about the wiki is that I could have administrative rights to view all edits to the wiki. This means that misuse of the tool could be easily monitored.
Benefits of using the wiki
- freely accessible online - students can use almost any time and in any place
- everyone has a voice and every voice is represented equally
- students may feel more comfortable expressing an opinion or contributing ideas toward this type of forum, compared to speaking out in class.
Drawbacks
- anyone can contribute anything they want. There's plenty of room for misuse of the resource to post potentially harmful material.
- information added to the wiki doesn't have to be referenced or come from a reliable source. Facts and figures presented on a wiki could be totally incaccurate. This is often the case with sources such as Wikipedia. Students need to understand referencing standards.
Image source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/dec/10/education-international-league-table-schools
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