This chapter on Wikis has given me a better understanding of other ways to use a Wiki rather than just for "Wikipedia". Prior to reading this chapter the first thing that came to my mind when hearing the word Wiki was Wikipedia and the only thing I had known about Wikipedia was from what I had been told from previous teachers which was not to trust it as a source. This chapter has actually stated that Wikipedia is actually a reliable source and actually four out of five sites were proven to be legitimate by experts. This was surprising to me, but scary as well knowing that my future students could be looking at that one website that is unreliable. Other ways to use a Wiki is for students to post their work such as essays, audio, projects, and videos on a Wiki which makes it easy for their classmates to make comments or even edit their work. To prevent the students from deleting the Wiki or even posting inappropriate context, when using a Wiki in the classroom the text states that by giving the students more responsibility to maintain the site, the less misuse of the Wiki will take place. I had not thought of this until reading the text. I had always assumed that the teacher was the one who maintained the Wiki and kept it updated. After reading this text I can see how having the students maintain the Wiki could benefit the students by each contributing to their site. This reading has impacted my thoughts about Wikis because I now understand that there are more people out there that want to improve Wikis rather than abuse them. I also now understand that there is more to a Wiki than just the website "Wikipedia".
As a result of this new thinking after reading this chapter I will think of a Wiki in a deeper way than just thinking of it as having a Wikipedia. As a future teacher I will give a full explanation of what a Wiki is and how to use it. As a student I was always told that Wikipedia is an unreliable source and not to use it, but after reading this chapter I have a better understanding of how Wikis work and that not all Wikipedia sites are unreliable which is what I would tell my future students. By having the students post their work, multiple students are able to edit their work in an easy manner. Having a classroom Wiki is really an easy way of keeping the students involved in their work and contributing to one another’s work as well. I will also leave students to be in charge of maintaining the Wiki, giving them the responsibility of keeping it updated and clean.
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