Review of Lazy Virtues: teaching writing in the edge of Wikipedia. - 22 views
started by FARNAZ SHAMS on 18 Mar 12
started by FARNAZ SHAMS on 18 Mar 12
Start a New Topic » « Back to the Net 308/508 Internet Collaboration and Organisation S1 2012 group
This article is about teaching writing in the age of Wikipedia and it speaks Wikipedia is using for higher education much more than before and students are now much more active in Wikipedia than before.
Nowadays, using the social media application is very popular for students to create and share their knowledge with others, which Wikipedia is one of them. Wikipedia, as a social network described in terms of creativity, collaboration and conviviality. Commons Based Peer Production (CBPP) is a theatrical structure to understand how Wikipedia can be useful in higher education for teaching and learning. Because, when students found they have opportunity to create and re-edit their content, they will try to provide the best one, even more they can self-determine their content. In addition, Wikipedia has some active editors, who will edit students content, so, students can gather some more authenticity, which engage them to write more in Wikipedia.
As time goes on Wikipedia is changing and the attitude of users will change too. For example in 2005 two students of a class edited pages related to the film "the color purple" and after more than 3 years, such a successful film were not covered in depth on Wikipedia. Furthermore, many of the students were pessimist with the use of Wikipedia. In contrast, in 2008 another survey of medical undergraduates showed 83% of students they use Wikipedia as a valuable learning recourse, which even 9% of them had some editing too.
Wikipedia is becoming a more acceptable tool in e-learning environments, and to a further extent providing an alternative to conventional course books (CCNMTL, 2008). It is interesting that Robert Cummings 'Lazy Virtues' notes that students were sceptical about the use of Wikipedia in their courses back in 2005, with many students being relatively unfamiliar with the concept of Wikipedia. Yet in 2007/2008, Cummings found that 83% of undergraduate medical students employed the use of Wikipedia for their studies, with 9% of students having edited one of the pages. Thus we see that incorporating Wikipedia in e-learning environments and educational institutions is becoming more acceptable amongst both students and teachers.
As we move into a digital era, we are beginning to witness a shift in conventional teaching methods with more and more teachers beginning to push for the use of wikis and other Web 2.0 technologies within the classroom, noting that these platforms help to increase the sense of community within the classroom (Grossek, 2009) and create somewhat of a virtual learning environment (CCNMTL, 2008). They are a valuable tool for promoting collaboration among students and compliment current teaching methods (Grossek, 2009).
Additional References:
CCNMTL (Nov 3rd, 2008). Promoting Collaborative Learning using Wikis. [YouTube Video]. Retrieved 22nd March 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul9YM7QZZis
Grossek, G. (2009). To use or not to use web 2.0 in higher education? Procedia Social and Behavioural Sciences. Pp478-482. Retrieved 21st March 2012 from http://webpages.csus.edu/~sac43949/pdfs/to%20use%20or%20not%20to%20use.pdf
If these studies are accurate then is that not proof enough to include Wikipedia as a credible information source? It is my belief that the 'immigrants' must begin to accept the world has changed from what they once knew and Wikipedia is here to stay.