Life through Digital Play

Wikis – Wicked or Wack?

What are Wikis and how useful are they?

Firstly, Wikis are open source software applications which allow for ‘open editing’ enabling users to edit content written by other users, such like Wikipedia.

The concept of Wikis is both a liberating and exciting chapter in the read/write approach of user generated content, revealing the web to be a democratic space where ‘non technical’ authors march to the keyboards to exhibit their new found agency. However, there are downsides to this collaborative approach in making meaning, such as the posting of unreliable information and the deleting of another author’s contribution in the spirit of content modification. The question becomes then, how do these issues play out in social communities established through Wikis? Are silent hierarchies created between individual user/authors, or do these acts launch a series of knowledge wars?

In the context of education, Wikis seem to be a positive resource for educators and an accessible space for group work between students. Wikis can enable tutors to keep track of both the process and progress of their students’ group projects as well as add pointers, guidance and feedback or simply offer praise.

For people like me discovering the second generation internet through web 2.0, wikispaces has a great tour which shows the functionality of wikis and just how easy they are to create.