Technical features, affordances and pedagogy – analysis of WIKIS

Table 1: Technical features, affordances and pedagogy – analysis of WIKIS

Features of the technology	Affordances (activities and practice)	Affordances (examples of pedagogy and designs)
Numerous users at the same time	Interactive and collaborative/Invite new users	Collaborative construction of knowledge. A very social way of learning (relevant to a constructivist theory of learning) Reflective: as discussion takes place students are having to reflect on previous decisions and work done (their own and others). This develops critical thinking skills/higher order thinking Ideas: Students can nut out ideas together and are able to discuss and comment on each other’s ideas. Students have to reflect on the opinions of others and the ideas of others that they themselves may have not necessarily thought about. Creative: students have the opportunity to create and show learning in a visual way. This style of learning allows for the use of Multiple Intelligences and takes on board the fact that all students learn differently and hence, will create things differently. Students are able to come back to the wiki as learning proceeds and make changes and adjustments to learning. This also enables the teacher to see where a student’s learning is at while also being able to see the workings of the group.  Responsibility: Students have to take responsibility for their work on the wiki it also gives the teacher the opportunity to see how a group has collaborated together.
Editable-add, delete, modify	Editing can take place during collaboration by any member. Users can make changes quickly and easily
Accountability	Changes made can be traces to the user. Authors take responsibility for actions
Discussion	There is a discussion system in which collaborators can discuss ideas.
Upload images and files Embed audio/video/images	Can insert/embed artefacts
Content posted immediately
Flexibility	While wiki structure can be based on hierarchical subject divisions through new page creation and internal and external hyper-linking. These features make wikis highly suitable for educational use
Personalised	The colour choices allow each person to see what has been inserted
Control of users	Wikis can be set up as open or invitation only.
Hyperlink	Linking outside sources to the wiki allows for a wider approach to subject matter.

 

References

Leuf, B. & Cunningham, W. (2001). The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley Professional.