Class Wiki Pages 

Theory of Knowledge Page

IB English HL Page

IB English A2 Page

What is a "Wiki"?

Wiki (n): 1. a website that allows multiple users to create, modify and organize web page content in a collaborative manner.

ORIGIN coined by programmer Ward Cunningham, from Hawaiian wiki-wiki "quick-quick."

     According to Wikipedia, a wiki "is a website that uses wiki software, allowing the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages, using a simplified markup language, or a WYSIWYG text editor, within the browser. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites, to power community websites, for personal note taking, in corporate intranets, and in knowledge management systems."^[1]

"But isn't 'wiki' a bad word at school?" 

     Some teachers think that "wiki" is a detrimental resource to learning, oftentimes confusing it as synonymous with Wikipeidia, which is by my estimation the largest wiki in the world, so the confusion is understandable.  They see a research paper's Work Cited Page chalk-full of Wikipedia entries, cringe with disdain and cry, "They didn't even use books!  Or websites with authors names on them!  Or a real encyclopedia!"  Personally, I am impressed with user-generated content of Wikipedia, which is proving to be a useful learning tool, however I still believe that Wikipedia should not be the basis or cornerstone of a student's research into a topic.  I do feel, however, that it is a valuable resource that is only becoming bigger and better as more people use the site, and as more people maintain, update and scrutinize the websites content.    

     But Wikipedia is far from the whole wiki story.  Groups, businesses, teachers, and classes are using wikis in different ways that take all the best ideas from the technology available, without running into too many problems with unreliable, anonymous or misguided information.  This is where my specific wikis come in, which we will use as an experiment at first with my Theory of Knowledge class.  We will use this wiki as a collaborative place, where the ideas we generate in class can become summarized, synthesized, and eventually transformed and organized into a resource for review and further investigation.