pedagogy
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A Successful Pedagogical Experiment:
Using Wikis in Academic Lectures
Gabriela GROSSECKSenior lecturer, Ph.D.
West University of Timisoara
12-13 April eLSE07Bucharest
Gabriela Grosseck, 12-13 April 2007 eLSE07 Bucharest
What is a wiki?
• Wiki =quick (in Hawaiian)
• A website in which content can be created and edited by a community of users (often without need for special privileges)
• Software that allows people with no knowledge of HTML or other
programming languages to create and/or edit a website
Gabriela Grosseck, 12-13 April 2007 eLSE07 Bucharest
The largest wiki: WiKIPEDIA• Best example is
Wikipedia• Wikipedia is:
– A free encyclopedia– Multilingual – Web-based – Written collaboratively
by volunteers• Most articles can be
changed by anyone • Wikipedia has more than
3 million articles
Gabriela Grosseck, 12-13 April 2007 eLSE07 Bucharest
Wiki technology
• Wiki ≠ Wikipedia• Enables people to work
collaboratively• You can learn to use a
wiki in 30-60 min.• Many different programs
to choose from• There are several free
sources for wikis (~200)
Gabriela Grosseck, 12-13 April 2007 eLSE07 Bucharest
Why wiki? / Why not wiki?• Easy to use
– Web-based– Simple software
commands• Anyone can make
changes• Flexible and easy to add
content to• Harness collective
intelligence!• Can help develop a
culture of sharing and working together (cf. open source)
• The success of the Wikipedia may not necessarily be replicated elsewhere.
• Vandalism and spam• Disorganized • Too open/ not enough
control of content• There may be copyright
and other legal issues regarding collaborative content
• There is not (yet) a standard lightweight Wiki markup language
Gabriela Grosseck, 12-13 April 2007 eLSE07 Bucharest
Ways to use Wiki in education• Students can use a wiki to develop
research projects.• Students can add summaries of
their thoughts from the prescribed readings.
• A wiki can be used for publishing course resources like syllabi and handouts.
• Teachers can use wikis as a knowledge base.
• Wikis can be used to map concepts (brainstorming, linked network of resources).
• A wiki can be used as a presentation tool in place of conventional software.
• Wikis are tools for group authoring.
Victoria A. Davis, 2006
Gabriela Grosseck, 12-13 April 2007 eLSE07 Bucharest
Why I wanted to use a wiki
• Students experience a technology they probably hadn’t encountered before
• Students learn about collaborative “sense-making”
• Huge potential for building community
Gabriela Grosseck, 12-13 April 2007 eLSE07 Bucharest
Using Wikis to Build Learning Communities
Gabriela Grosseck, 12-13 April 2007 eLSE07 Bucharest
Why follow the “wiki way”?• achieving knowledge in efficient
use of the Internet• developing relational and
communication competences in virtual space
• forming of specific attitudes regarding the Web 2.0 technologies (wiki, blog, RSS, social bookmarking etc.)
• developing/improving digital competences for individuals and groups
• the students can exercise their most important competence - the competence of creating content
Gabriela Grosseck, 12-13 April 2007 eLSE07 Bucharest
Why follow the “wikispaces way”?• organizing, cooperating and interpersonal
relation competences
• developing formative and informative valences for the students, critical thinking and creativity
• involving the students in taking decisions
• participating learning and learning by discovering in on-line environment
• building a learning community!
Gabriela Grosseck, 12-13 April 2007 eLSE07 Bucharest
Lessons learned
• Don’t be afraid to experiment!
• Be flexible!• Get feedback from
users!• Don’t get frustrated!• Learn how to use
this powerful content management!!
Q&A
Thank you !
Gabriela GROSSECKWest University of Timisoara
Faculty of Sociology and PsychologyDepartment of Foreign Languages
and Social Informatics4 Bd. V. Parvan, office 029
300223 Timisoara, Romaniaphone: 0040-256-592.266
fax: 0040-256-592.320email: [email protected]
blog: http://grosseck.blogspot.com