Creating Authentic Learning in a Wiki

I really like wikis. That said, I like them because I see educational potential in their use by teachers and students. I am in the midst of a discussion, well, maybe that is too strong a word, perhaps conversation is more apt…about whether wikis really provide a learning environment and offer learning opportunities or whether they are merely repositiories of information and /or knowledge. Of course they are both–learners need one to have the other. Learners need information and/or knowledge to converge with experience in order to create new knowledge, extend existing knowledge and reinforce or dismiss notions or  assumptions.

But to develop wikis in a way that scaffolds constructivist thought and social interaction (aka networking) requires time and creativity. Sure, it’s easy to ask learners to post to a wiki just to make it look like your learners use wikis. But using wikis and learning from wikis is not the same concept. To make the wiki work from a the constructivist view is to require anticipation and thereafter, reflection. In that paradigm of working, wiki participants are truly  collaborating rather than idependently working on a shared site. That’s what makes wikis work. 

One way to illustrate such types of learning is to use Wikipedia or other wikis to develop critical literacy. Twice this week, I have read in a blog or listened to a podcast that outlines how teachers are using their distrust of Wikipedia to build critical reading skills. Christopher Dawson points out ways to challenge students to become critical readers by identifing inconsistencies or contradictions within Wikipedia entries or by culling the references and discussions to further research accuracy, timeliness, credibility, etc.  Dawson points out that many of today’s views regarding Wikipedia are reminiscent of our own teachers’ views of World Book and other encyclopedias, if not in their credibility, in the depth of their content.

Like any other instructional tool, a wiki is only as strong as designer of its use. If a teacher sees it as a repository and accepts the work assigned using it as just that, a repository it will be. However, if a teacher’s expecations require full familiarity and use of the discussion pages and embedding tools, the wiki can be far more than a repositiory; it can become a dynamic intellectual and cultural tool that shapes not only the creators, but also the sometime voyeur.