Whilst researching hosted Wiki services for a use by one of our faculties I found it interesting that despite this category of collaborative software having the potential, in some contexts, to enrich teaching and learning, few educators, in the UK at least, have chosen to use Wikis. It seems that despite the rapidly growing popularity of other types of social/collaborative software, Wiki's may have some way to go before they are accepted more widely. The term 'wiki wiki' is derived from the Hawaiian for 'quick'. It's undoubtedly an unusual but, perhaps, suitable name for a technology that enables people to collectively author, edit and publish documents using their web browser. Wikis are closer to the model that Tim Berners Lee first envisaged for the Web than what was finally delivered via html and the now ubiquitous web browser.
So what are the possible barriers to uptake?
Since it's conception in 1995, an entire set of Wiki related jargon has developed alongside the technology that, whilst amusing, now threatens to exclude the uninitiated. In education, our use of technology is often restricted by issues beyond our immediate control, such as the available bandwidth. It seems ironic therefore, that in order to participate users need to first ingest a quantity of Wiki related jargon; a very effective barrier to its assimilation and uptake.
Whilst there is no doubt that collaborative solutions of this nature can have huge potential in an educational context - something that has been touched upon in previous articles, there is a huge personal transition necessary before an individual can engage with social software of this kind. We function in a society that is governed by rules and restrictions, so it is perhaps not surprising that the the openness and self governing nature of Wikis can seem confusing at first - a point made in a recent Guardian article. Certainly, many lecturers are still developing their skills as educators in the online world, and the idea of a fully open, self governing environment, such as we find in a Wiki is likely to meet significant resistance.
Of course, Wiki tools are continuing to develop, and some are now providing walled garden functionality - despite this notion being frowned upon by some in the Wiki community (presumably since it deviates from the original ideal).
Examples of Wikis that are being used within an educational context can be found at Queen's University Belfast, where it has been used by students to create a collective set of revision notes, and at Georgia Tech, who's extensive use of CoWeb is described in their learning and teaching focussed newsletter, The Classroom.
I feel that, with Wikis, we still have a long way to go, but despite the various obstacles currently in our path, Wiki's could eventually be a useful part of the armoury of tools and services that make up a modern learning environment.
