Wikis

Students often hate group work and one of the many reasons is that they have problems working on one final document for project completion. As files are passed back and forth they are corrupted. If students are instructed to use their group in the  discussion board they can attach files back and forth, HOWEVER, while one person is editing file 1 another person is also editing file 1, and there are two versions of the same file.

The solution is a wiki. A wiki is a document that can be edited by a group, BUT it has record locking. If  one person is working on a file and another person wants to edit it the second person will be locked out. This keeps the latest version of the file. When the first person is finished and saves, then the second person can edit the CURRENT DOCUMENT. There is no need to pass files back and forth.

A problem can be that if students make a mistake or delete information that should not be deleted then their final changes stay in the document. To stop this problem good wikis have a history function so that the owner of the wiki (usually the instructor/mentor) can revert the material to the previous edit. There is a trail of all the edits made and my whom.

Most of us a familiar with Wikipedia, but now wikis are part of many Learning Management  Systems.  The final file can be submitted by the group as the culmination of group project.

This site has an excellent graphic illustrating the differences between a wiki, a blog and a discussion. We need to use the right tool for the right purpose!

The University of Adlaide. (ND). Differences between Discussion Boards, Blogs and Wikis. http://www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/staff/resources/tutorials/content/Differences_between_Discussion_Boards__Blogs_and_Wikis.html