Wiki+Uses

= Educational uses: =

Students can use a wiki to **develop research projects**, with the wiki serving as
 * ongoing documentation** of their work.

• Students can add **summaries of their thoughts** from the prescribed readings, building a collaborative annotated bibliography on a wiki.

• A wiki can be used for **publishing course resources** like syllabi and handouts, and students can edit and comment on these directly for all to see.

• Teachers can use wikis as a **knowledge base**, enabling them to share reflections and thoughts regarding teaching practices, and allowing for versioning and documentation.

• Wikis can be used **to map concepts**. They are useful for brainstorming, and editing a given wiki topic can produce a **linked network of resources.**

• A wiki can be used as a **presentation tool** in place of conventional software, and students are able to **directly comment** on and revise the presentation content.


 * Group authoring**

1. Single-user wikis allow an individual to collect and edit his or her own thoughts using a Web-based environment.

2. Lab book wikis allow students to keep notes online with the added benefit of allowing them to be peer reviewed and changed by fellow students.

3. Collaborative writing wikis can be used by a team for joint writing.

4. Knowledge base wikis provide a knowledge repository for a group.


 * Writing**

Perhaps the most common pedagogical application of wikis is supporting writing instruction (Lamb, 2004). Using a wiki as a writing tool maximizes the advantages of reflection, reviewing, publication, and of observing cumulative written results as they unfold (Fountain, 2005).

Lamb (2004) reports that a wiki called "Why Use Wikis to Teach Writing" lists a number of themedium’s strengths for the teaching of writing skills:

• wikis **stimulate writing** ('fun' and 'wiki' are often associated) • wikis provide a low-cost but **effective communication and collaboration tool** (with an emphasis on text rather than software) • wikis promote the **close reading, revision, and tracking** of preliminary work • wikis discourage 'product oriented writing' while facilitating **'writing as a process'** • wikis ease students into writing for a **wider audience**

**See Rod Faulkner’s wiki on wikipages**
 * Project-bsed learning:**