technology

Follow-up on wikis

And this was found via a history-centered blog:

http://www.earlymodernweb.org.uk/emn/index.php/archives/2007/05/wikification-what-can-wiki-do-for-you/

Digital Humanities

A recent summt in Washington led to the creation of a wiki that represents the center of the larger initiatives in Digital Humanities technologies. As wikis mature as a technology, this example demonstrates an important and vital use that goes beyond group collaboration without boundaries as many early wikis did. With limited funding available and various digital humanities centers having only informal collaborations and sometimes developing competing rather than complementary tools, this site holds some exciting possibilities - especially for those of us at smaller universities that don't have these types of possibilities.

Student wiki project

This teacher transformed his WWI poetry project into a wiki. This is the type of project that is perfect for a wiki and a great hands-on way to teach students that "anyone" can edit a wiki and the positives and negatives of using it as a source of information.

Google buys wiki tool developer

This article points to another way that Google is expanding its role in our virutal lives.

Wikipedias supporters and critics

The Chronicle of Higher Ed's latest article on wikis (subscription required) examines how different disciplines view its authenticity. An excellent point is how historians are not usually collaborators on articles and publications whereas scientists are. Therefore, according to those cited in the article, some scientists also feel more comfortable with wikis. This is along with their knowledge base on "less abstract" notions than historical concepts and events - ie what is more important than the facts and the dates associated with something or someone? Historians often cite the lack of contextualization as a major weakness of wiki articles.

Most importantly, existing case studies of student use of wikipedias demonstrate what underscores student use of this source - their thinking that EVERYTHING is on the web and often an ignorance of the need to compare and contrast a variety of sources - including evaluating the author's credentials and support of his/her arguments - to come up with their own original thoughts and analyses.

Wikis as collaborative tools

This site demonstrates an effective use of wikis that is also being assessed for accuracy as it is being developed. Most importantly, it illustrates the interactive learning and authentic assessment aspects of online projects that also develop technology proficiencies.

A Re-evaluation of wikis

This post by jill/txt explains why she is renewing her strict efforts in disallowing the use of wiki citations in student work. I still believe that wikis are a good teaching tool and should be evaluated but should not be cited as accurate sources. They are part of the more informal information network available on the internet and should be viewed as such. It's very similar to "someone told me that"  - it may be true and it may not. It's also an excellent way to assist students in developing their critical thinking skills.

Critique of wikipedia

Via mamamusings, this article is worth reading.

more on wikipedias

Here are Dan Cohen's recent comments about wikis.

wikis and Web 2.0

Another aspect of wikis from Jeffrey Veen