Collaborative wiki textbooks- a fascinating idea since I've always lamented the amount of money school systems spend on traditional textbooks that become quickly outdated. A couple of articles, 7 Things You Should Know About Wikis and Wiki in a K-12 Classroom, highlight the advantages of creating collaborative textbooks: they allow everyone to be a publisher and give us the potential to influence how we create containers of knowledge on the web. The Wild About Wikis article lists a wiki designed for collaboratively creating books: wikibooks. This wiki even has a section for wiki junior books that are written for (and sometimes by) kids.
Great idea, this use of wiki I thought. But then I happened upon a blog disputing the practice of creating wiki textbooks. "Even experts in IT debunk wikis as just another form of groupware, prone to fall into disuse as wikis are a waste of time," writes Mary Ellen Lepionka in her Atlantic Path Publishing blog. Mrs. Lepionka's concern is focused on the standards of accuracy and veracity. Good point, I say to myself. Then she goes on to say that there is a place for wikis. (Oh yea! I say.) This can occur when the creation of wiki-texts provides a context for skill development, such as developing search, thinking, judgment, and organization skills.
But there's more. She gives the example of the students of educator Clay Burrell creating a wiki-textbook. Let's hear about it directly from Mr. Burrell on this video:
Here is the actual class wiki textbook: A Broken World
Please take the time to look at it. Also, Mr. Burrell and his students began a worldwide collaboration project called 1001 Flat World Tales where students throughout the world are writing creative stories together on the 1001 Flat World Tale wiki. After analysis, the best stories are published on the corresponding website where you can not only read the stories but also hear the students reading on podcasts and offer feedback that they use to revise. The plan is to create a free ebook with the tales and a paperback book.
So, are wikis a waste or a wonder? Mr. Burrell's students have demonstrated the power of creating a collaborative project and publishing to a real world audience through a wiki. They have and continue to create wiki wonders.
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5 comments:
Hi, Anne,
Good entry on wiki textbooks! I think it was a great idea to include the video and actual text link in your extension of the example I used in my blog. Very effective. And thank you for crediting and providing a link to my blog page. The quote you attribute to me, by the way, is actually me paraphrasing what I read in an article by an IT expert (which I can't seem to find now). I should have made that clearer in my blog entry. Anyway, I enjoyed your input on an important topics.
Anne! Great job! And it's amazing to see how far-reaching our blogs can be. I can't believe Mary Ellen Lepionka wrote back to you! I think you make a good point about using Wikis to take some of the financial strain off of school systems. I wonder though, about the danger of incorrect information or biases being posted in a Wiki-made textbook? I agree that the amount of collaboration which would go on between teachers and students in the creation process would be wonderful, but it would definitely need to be closely monitored. I also agree that student-created Wiki textbooks would not only give the students a sense of ownership but would also encourage greater creativity. Encouraging use of technology for educational purposes, such as Wikis, blogs, etc., is another path that media specialists can lead the way on.
Anne,
This is really good information. I never envisioned students actually creating wiki textbooks. Students would digest the information better because of the research and hands on experience of creating a textbook. I wonder how much time an effort this takes though. It seems like it would be very time consuming and teachers are all pressured for time.
Anne, you have really done your homework on this topic. I have never thought about a Wiki becoming useful for textbooks. In that case, a Wiki could be a wonderful contribution to schools and media centers. However, I'm still not sure about the use of Wikis with students. I can see how useful it can be between professional though. Thinking back to your blog about podcasting- is this something that Mrs. Dilbert can do on her own, or does she need hours of training?
Dorina
Wow, Anne! The video about Mr. Burrell's students was really impressive! What a cool idea for students to research and to organize information in such a format. I bet most kids would really like the idea of leaving what they consider to be their old, dusty textbooks to enter into this other world. It looks as though Mr. Burrell has definitely monitored and guided them closely. I wonder what state he is teaching in? I don't recall having heard it mentioned in the video. This type of technology is such a cool way to bring a real world audience to students. On the down side, though, it is also amazingly time consuming. I know at the high school level, there is SO MUCH PRESSURE to get through the GPS and not nearly enough time to cover all of the material. Projects that incorporate technology like this take so much more time than covering material in the old traditional way. I know that is why many teachers don't incorporate technology into their lessons as much as they would like to. It is especially difficult when you are working with students whose experience, skills, and abilities vary greatly. Most of us can relate to that dilemma. It definitely looks like incorporating such a cool project would be worth the effort, though. Getting started would probably be the most difficult part. Thanks for such an informative posting!! : )
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