Crazy about Collaboration: Wikis in the Classroom

The only Wiki I have ever been exposed to is Wikipedia, but I have never really paid attention to Wikis because every time I heard the term, I thought it was in reference to Wikipedia. I did not realize Wikipedia is just an example of a Wiki and once again I love this class for introducing Wikis to me. I was still unsure what a Wiki was even after reading the pdf document, the blog, and the chapter on Wikis. It wasn’t until I watched the YouTube video titled, “Wikis in Plain English”, that I truly begun to understand Wikis and their capabilities. Wikis would be a great asset to journalism students especially when they are working with their peers on news articles. For example, four students can be assigned a specific topic such as, recycling on campus. Instead of each student going out and writing individual articles, they can work together to create an article using Wikis. This way, no one’s article will be omitted from the school newspaper and a comprehensive article will represent the work done by four individual students. Collaboration helps to build a stronger, well rounded news product versus an article that is written by only one author.

Journalism students can also collaborate on journalism projects, such as a “He Said, She Said” type segment. There is always more than one side to each story and this kind of controversy attracts readers. When asking students to write articles about the same subject with different viewpoints, it is important that they know what is included in the opposing article. By using Wikis, students can ensure articles are written using opposing viewpoints. The two student authors can make sure the two articles mesh by contradicting each other. Controversial articles will draw in more readers and make the school newspaper more successful.