27 April, 2012

Campus Pack: Introduction to Wikis

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Wikis were originally created as a very simple way to put information online, that all users could edit. They weren't designed to look pretty, just to be quick and easy to use.


Wikis have developed over time and now it can be hard to see the difference between a content management system and a wiki. Generally though Wikis contain things like widely editable pages, a page history, records of discussions about the page's development, and the ability to subscribe to notifications of changes to the page. Duffy and Bruns (2008) provide a good quick overview of wikis and their uses in 'The use of blogs, wikis and RSS in education: A conversation of possibilities'.


As some interesting examples of non-education specific uses have a look at:
  • Wikipatterns - A collaboratively updated book about different ways in which wikis can be used
  • Pulp Bard - Colaborative project to translate the Pulp Fiction film script into a Shakespearean equivalent
  • Wikipedia (English Version) - The largest wiki
  • Wikia - A site hosting 1000s of wikis where the communities have collected information about things like travelgames and films.


Many educators have used in Wikis in Higher Education. Some uses we are aware of at Edge Hill include:


Other uses elsewhere in Higher Education include:

Potential benefits reported have included
  • Wikis "supporting social-constructivist models of pedagogy" (Feng Su and Chris Beaumont, 2010)
  • Wikis "invite collaboration and tolerate dissension, moving toward consensus and defined disagreement" (Cummings and Barton, 2008)
  • Students can benefit from quick peer feedback when there is a vibrant community. (Feng Su and Chris Beaumont, 2010)
  • Wikis can be used to promote integration of learning - i.e. "the ability to connect, apply, and/or synthesize information, knowledge and skills across varied contexts" (Barber, 2012)
Potential issues to be aware of, include those related to orientation and usability of the technology.
  • "inadequate socialisation at the start of the collaborative activity was a key obstacle in conducting group projects or activities at a distance" (Dr Shailey Minocha)
  • "When participants fail to form functional groups in their wikis, their ability to engage with the task and to form a community of enquiry... is impaired." (Benson, et al, 2012)
  • Finding the right wiki tool for your particular use. "usability is the key attribute for a positive user experience" (Shailey Minocha and Peter G. Thomas, 2007)
I've started making notes around a few articles and my list might help you get started exploring the literature.

Finally, the following videos have been created to show how certain simple things can be done using Campus Pack wikis.

26 April, 2012

Campus Pack: An Expanded Range of Tools for Blackboard

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Currently Blackboard Learn contains a range of tools for creating and sharing resources, along with different types of communication tools. Campus Pack is a set of tools which will increase the ability of students to create their own content within Blackboard, and will make it easier for them to share their work outside of that environment.


The tools in Campus Pack include Wikis, Blogs/Journals, Podcasts and other content creation tools that can be used for ePortfolio creation. These tools can be added to a Blackboard section by a tutor, or used outside of a classes official module area by a student.


In the next few posts we'll take a quick look at the tools available through Campus Pack, why they might be used in Higher Education, and how you can use them.