"Wikis: Pros and Cons for Adult Learners."

                        Wiki Significance

So, why should I wiki?
 

"Wikis provide learners meaningful, interactive, reflective, and collaborative opportunities in which learning takes precedence" (King & Cox, 2011, p.122). How exactly can a wiki promote active adult learning and engagement? The answer lies its flexible platform which can be used in a variety of different learning contexts for differing purposes which may include: student journaling; creation of an eportfolio; construction of a collaborative knowledge base; cooperative research; and curricular and cross-disciplinary coordination (King & Cox. 2011).

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Adult Learning Theory

Adult Learner: Andragogy

Malcom Knowles' (1973), Andragogy sets forth a series of assumptions about adult learners which the educational use of a wiki can support and amplify. In particular, adult learners tend to be highly self-motivated and can engage in self-directed learning activities. A wiki is a great web 2.0 resource tool which provides adult learners with a venue for expressing their creative freedom and autonomy via its editing and revising functionalities (Bosnic, Poscic, Ackar, Zibrat, & Zagar; 2010). Adult learners have a wealth of prior knowledge and life experiences which they often want to share with others. A wikis can serve as "collaborative work space" (West & West, 2009) where "knowledge construction and knowledge sharing" can occur (Montero-Fleta & Perez-Sabater, 2011). It is when knowledge sharing, collaborative/cooperative interactions, and passionate content engagement occurs that the formation of a "community of practice" among adult learners will rise to the forefront (King, & Cox, 2011, p. 124).

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Wiki  (King & Cox, 2011)
Pro (+)	Con (-)
(1). Readily accessible	(1). Public
(2). Has return “comments” feature	(2). “Hidden audience”: wiki visitation with no return feedback in comment box
(3). Easy to edit	(3). Data entry of inappropriate or irrelevant content material
(4). Can promote: Active learning Collaborative learning Cooperative learning Community of practice Narrative analysis Social interaction	(4). Can promote: Collective bias

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Final Thoughts

In this graduate degree program, I have worked on three wikis now. I think the learning curve for using the various functionalities and designing the interface of a wiki is higher than creating and designing a blog. In addition, unlike a blog, there is no spell check feature in the discussion section of a wiki, where one leaves comments. The ability to add and revise basic text-based content is a powerful wiki feature and what makes it such a useful tool for collaborative projects. Instructors who want to integrate technology into their curriculum will find this a very beneficial tool to introduce to students despite, some of its minor challenges and limitations.

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Questions

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(1). In the Hazari, North, & Moreland (2009) article, gender differences were found between male and female students, with female students being less engaged in the educational use of wikis. What strategies or best practices might you recommend to promote and enhance the interest of female students with wiki technology?

(2). In our readings this week, all of the authors maintained that a wiki was an effective tool for promoting two distinct elements: collaborative learning and cooperative student-student interactions.  For novice instructors, who are contemplating integrating wiki technology into their course curriculum, what advice or recommendations would you suggest for the design and development of a learning activity that would incorporate the above two elements?

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References

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Bosnic, I.,  Poscic, A.,  Ackar, I., Zibrat, Z., & Zagar, M. (2010, June 21-24). Online collaborative presentations. Proceedings of the ITI 2010 3rd International Conference on Information Technology Interfaces. Retrieved from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/224166391_Online_collaborative_presentations

Knowles, M. (1973). The adult learner: A neglected species. (3rd edition). Houston, TX: Gulf. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED084368

Lari, P.  (2011). The use of wikis for collaboration in higher education. In K. P. King & T. D. Cox (Eds.), The professor’s guide to taming technology (pp. 121-133).  Charlotte, NC:  Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Montero-Fleta, B., & Perez-Sabater, C. (2011). Knowledge construction and knowledge sharing: A Wiki-based approach. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 28, 622-627. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/1776697/Knowledge_construction_and_knowledge_sharing_a_Wiki-based_approach

West, J.A., & West, M.L. (2009). Using wikis for online collaboration.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from [HERE]

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Images

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(n.d.). Adult learners. [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://madisoncollege.edu/files/users/JKolka/adult-learners.jpg

(n.d.). Final thoughts. [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://www.psdgraphics.com/file/creative-thought.jpg

(2012, 12). Pros and cons. [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://www.publicschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/pros-and-cons.jpg

(2013, 04). Wiki. [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from  http://dotwiki.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ICANNWiki-Logos_Ink-Wiki_2.png

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Videos

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(2008, November 19). Ain't no stoppin' us now (McFadden and Whitehead). Retrieved from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY0tsKCB4lc

(2012, June 30). Educational uses of wiki. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGmWjjD0Yo8

Finlay, J. (2010, May 17). Andragogy (adult learning). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLoPiHUZbEw