When did you first hear about wikis, and what was your first impression of what you heard? Now that you have a brief definition, what are the possibilities for wiki use in your area?

I first heard about wikis at an ePortfolio Ocotillo Discussion Group last Fall. I thought they could be quite useful for group work in a regular class, as well as for hybrid and on-line learning classes. I had thought it would be a good tool for an on-line hybrid class I'm teaching this semester, but I got talked into using Blackboard, and I decided that adding a wiki would be too much.
I'd like to explore the possibilities for using it with regular classes. Back in the Day, I loved using Electronic Forum with my students because the quietest students would write great entries (anonymously, except for me--as teacher--to know)that everyone in the class would read. I required students to log on weekly. One time, I had a student who loved arguing, so he would write a controversial entry under one pen name, and then reply to himself under a different pen name. Other students in the class would then take a side. It was fun and educational.

This is a comment from Jill Seymour: I had heard the phrase used probably a few years ago, but hadn't had much opportunity for personal exploration of it. Last spring I went to a workshop in NYC about new things for technology, and someone did a presentation about it. What struck me as most interesting was the comment by the presenter that Wikipedia (perhaps the best-known of wikis) actually is an excellent site for information, since incorrect information that is posted tends to be corrected very quickly due. This was note-worthy to me because in my field of libraries, there had been some skepticism expressed about the quality of this site. I can see the benefit in teaching, but it also occurs to me that this might be an effective way to gather input from various stakeholders regarding planning for our new buildings.

Yhe first time I thought about the concept that a wiki was a web site enyone could change, I thought, "That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard" You cannot understand what wikis really offer until you have a meaningful wiki experience; just seeing a demo, or visiting WikiPedia does not count.

Mine was in the summer of 2004 when I was asked to do a teleconference on a technology project with 2 collaborators in distance regions. We built a shared resource site using a wiki, starting it as a rough outline, adding and reshaping it asynchronously. It made such sense then to think of it not as a final polished web site, but a sort of messy drafting board for sketching ideas, brainstorming, etc.

It is too easy to get caught up in the issues of "truth" in the WikiPedia and lose track of the mass knowledge creation potential it allows. For the best understanding of WikiPedia, I highly recommend watching Jon Udell's screencast on Heavy Metal Umlaut http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/gems/umlaut.html

and for something fun, consider the "Uncyclopedia", the content free anti-encyclopedia: http://uncyclopedia.org/

And for something very sensible, read How To Plan the Perfect Camping Trip With a Wiki
http://www.commoncraft.com/archives/000648.html

I ignored this wiki phenomenon for sometime because I couldn't think of a good use for them in my teaching. Now that I use them all the time, I can't imagine what I was thinking back then. I was skeptical about the whole "anyone can edit" thing, but suprisingly students don't waste their time trying to mess up the wiki. I've had no incidents since I started using wikis with my students. This semester we're using the wiki for our writing portfolios and final exam.

I have heard of wikis for some time but have never found the time to work with one until recently. I am currently working with a Content Management System called tikiwiki that incorprates a wiki as on of its components. We are using it to create a website for a Digital Visual Learning project at mesa CC. I would lke to explore the possibility of using a wiki to create something like a Digital Visual Literacy learning community or community of practice.

my first experience with a wiki was some years ago; i google'd a keyword and a link to wikipedia showed up. i would like to use them in the learning applications i develop at the bank where i work and in my flash development classes at estrella.

I heard about Wikis from Alan L. and then from Dr. Alisa Cooper. I met with Alisa a few times and she then introduced me to some of the Wiki features. I am interested in using the Wiki for my reading class discussions.

It is a new to me. I heard about wikipedia. I wonder how I could join and how much it will cost.

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