Wikis and Authentic Writing

Wikis are a fabulous tool for teachers. There is an English teacher in our high school that set up a wiki for his classes. He specifically used it when he went to India in a teacher exchange program. While in India, he was able to monitor his classes, write to his students and comment on their work. Wikis allow for collaboration between students as well as between students and the teacher. Hendron states, “In essence, wiki documents are linked pages” (175). The beauty of it is that there is no limit to how many pages can be linked together. And not only can these pages be linked to other pages in the wiki, but also to websites on the net.

The collaboration is truly what makes wikis great. No longer do students have to swap papers during class in order to comment on one another’s. Now, with a wiki, students can read other students writing at home or anywhere there is internet access. Not only can they read other students’ works, but also they can also comment on it and even edit the writing piece. All of these actions are also documented so that the teacher knows who is accessing the site and who is not. Also, since the site is documented, it also saves versions of each the site or document so that students may revert to previous versions. Back to the teacher in my school, the other great think about wikis is that it can document who is very or reading the site. His wiki shows who is reading his students short stories and from what country they are from, a great aspect of the site, particularly when we have been discussing the idea of authentic writing and writing for an audience. Hendron states, “Educators who have already engaged their students with Reade/Write opportunities of expression know how their students are powerfully motivated by being able to publish their work online for others to see, hear, and use” (178). Giving students a voice will truly give the motivation. Just as with blogging, writing with an audience in mind allows for better writing, writing that is cleaner and writing that contains a stronger voice.

Just as with any technology, wikis have a downside to them. What happens to the students who do not have access to a computer or the internet at their home. I realize that many teachers will say that there is plenty of time in school (study halls and lunch) for a student to get access to a computer. But the reality is that there is not enough time in a day. Many students do not have study hall and those that do find the library closed many of the times that they would like to go and use the computers. Although I do agree with Hendron’s statement, “We are part of a new society; one actively collaborating through social technologies, which may be the future of our global economy,” it is difficulty to expect our students to use so much technology when unlimited access is not completely there yet (180). This is not to say that districts will not eventually have enough computers and times that the students can use them, but rather, as of now, using technology at home can not be mandatory.