Ever had to Google something and one of top results was a page like this (see above)? That's because Wikipedia has become one of the most visited websites for information. So what is a wiki? A wiki is a website that allows the creation, collaboration, and editing by multiple users. With a Wiki, people from around the world can collaborate and build internet-based relationships. According to Wikipedia, collaboration is defined as "working together to achieve collective results that the participants would be incapable of accomplishing working alone".
Collaboration may seem easy for most, but one must keep in mind cultural differences when there are some. With computer-mediated communication (CMC), problems can arise between members of different cultures. Misunderstandings and miscommunication might happen. For instance, if someone said something like, "When pigs fly" to a Muslim, they might get offended as it is widely known that Muslims cannot eat pork. Of course a person cannot know everything about every religion or culture, but they might give themselves a chance to be more culturally sensitive, which in turn will help provide a more productive collaboration.
I found this great presentation on SlideShare by Mcannonbrookes entitled "Organisational Wiki Adoption":
I must note here that Wikipedia adopts a Neutral Point of View (NPOV) policy in that information provided must be neutral and unbiased.
Finding Wikipedia in the top five of nearly every Google result is often viewed with frustration by educators. Students' use of Wikipedia is a frequently discussed point, and I have personally had classes where I was told not to "use" Wikipedia for research. This statement is problematic in that it does not define what it means to "use" Wikipedia. Most students know by now in 2011 that you can't just use Wikipedia in your resources list. This is not the way most students use Wikipedia. Most students use it to begin the research process, not to complete it. This point is made in the following article:
ReplyDeleteAlison J. Head and Michael B. Eisenberg (2010, March). How Today’s College Students Use Wikipedia for Course-related Research, First Monday, Volume 15, Number 3 - 1. http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2830/2476
Head and Eisenberg discovered that while most students "use" Wikipedia, the vast majority do not use it exclusively; rather, they use it as a beginning point for the research process. It would be appropriate now for educators to explain what they mean when stating that students are not to use Wikipedia - more than likely, what they really mean is that they don't want to see it showing up in the references list at the end of the paper.
During the reading for Dr.Bonk's course, I came across an article which was written to discuss whether Google is making everyone stupid. A natural extension to this discussion can be whether "Wikis" are making everyone stupid.
ReplyDeleteWhile several pros and cons can be thought about for this discussion, I certainly believe that availability of Wikis at hand is certainly very useful. Now it solely depends on an individual whether using Wikis is a starting point or an end point during his/her information search!
I remember my school days when I would go to the library and look through the volumes of an encyclopedia for a word or concept. While the process was enjoyable because while looking for a particular concept, I would read other things on nearby pages, the availability of such 'information rich' resource was limited due to library timings or school timings etc.
Thanks to the Internet however, those limitations are now long gone! All I have to do now is to search it on Wikis!
Nevertheless, as correctly pointed out in the previous comment, one must always be careful in deciding whether to start from Wikis or to stop there!