Mobile Phone Wiki

Wikis are a ‘website’ of sorts, where all participants possess the authority to contribute and modify the content on the site.  Here is a simple explanation on how wikis work: 

The activity assigned required each person to consider the use of mobile phones in the classroom.  We were to think about this topic using de Bonos Six Thinking Hats and then add our comments to a class wiki.

My first reaction to using the wiki was quite negative.  I found the initial process to be quite messy.  The participants’ names did not line up with their comments because of the design of the table.  There were a lot of comments to read and many simply re-iterated previous ideas.  There was also the issue of lost contributions, either through them being accidentally deleted or not being saved by the wiki because someone else was working on the site at the same time.  As being one of the final participants to contribute to the wiki, I also found it difficult to think of unique ideas to add to the discussion.

As I navigated the wiki more I gradually found it easier to use and found ways to combat some of the drawbacks.  For example, I learnt to save my comments in an external document first and then copy and paste in my comments.  This way my information could never be ‘lost’ and easily put back into the wiki if removed for some reason.

I also realised, that I had become more focused on the issue of using mobile phones in the classroom and how de Bono’s six thinking hats worked than on how wikis actually worked and their potential teaching benefits.  As I stood back and thought about wikis in general and how a complete task using wikis would work (i.e. a task that included the summarising and analysing), my view on wikis began to change.

The benefits:

• Everyone gets an opportunity to voice an opinion and be heard 
• All opinions can be read by all other participants and the teacher
• Many novel suggestions may be made (more than one person could have thought of by themselves)
• Participants can add their contributions at a time suitable to them (i.e. doesn’t have to be done in class because that is where the butcher’s paper is)
•  Initial responses don’t need to be ‘perfect’, as contributions can be easily altered as more information on the topic is discovered
• Once all contributions have been made, they can then be sorted/summarised/analysed into a working document
• Common or favoured ideas are easily identified by the number of times they are listed
• A group activity that allows for participants to be in different geographical locations
•  Lost/deleted contributions can be retrieved through the history log
• Allows for the teacher to be able to check what sort of contribution each participant is making and how the project is progressing
• All information is located on the one site 

The drawbacks:

• Can’t be worked on at the same time by more than one person
•  Other participants’ contributions can be accidentally or deliberately deleted
• The initial contributions can appear messy with duplication of information
• Although a collaborative tool, there still needs to be an appointed moderator to ensure all the participants stay on task and to oversee the wiki’s development

There is a certain amount of trust given to the participants.  Not to delete or alter anyone else’s comments.  This can be quite empowering for the participant.

I would use wikis in the classroom.  I think it would be a great group homework device.  Sometimes group work can be quite time consuming for the participants because a time and place needs to be arranged for all the participants to meet.  However, using a wiki would mean the participants could add their ideas at a time and location that suited them.  It negates the effect of participants forgetting to bring work to the group session or being absent, as all the work is on the wiki.  It also provides a great way for teachers to check to see what sort of contribution each participant has made (using the history log).  I’m sure everyone has memory of a group assignment where one member didn’t do his or her fair share of the work, and yet, still gets the same mark. Ggrr!

So while wikis do possess some of their own issues, they solve many of the problems associated with traditional group work.