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Wikis

Wikis are web pages where people can work collaboratively. Wikipedia is a well-known example of a wiki where the wider community contributes content on a broad range of topics. By adding a wiki into your subject in UTSOnline, you will provide students with a space where they can create online pages which include text, pictures, links, files and embedded audio and videos (including YouTube videos).

The benefit of a wiki is that each student can add content, edit others' contributions and reformat the layout. A full history of the revisions is maintained so that students and instructors can keep track of the changes made to the wiki pages and roll-back to earlier versions of pages if necessary.  Also, the instructor can view each student's individual contributions to the site, and grade the contribution if they desire.

Using wikis for student learning

Some ways wikis have been used to support student learning in higher education include:

  • Collaboratively writing web-friendly information resources for potential clients or consumers
  • Sharing research literature for a group project by creating an annotated bibliography
  • Creating group charters and meeting notes for projects
  • Sharing documents in group work projects without constant email exchanges

Here is one example of a wiki in UTSOnline:

utsonline wiki image

Types of wikis in UTSOnline

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There are at two main types of wikis you can use in UTSOnline:

  1. Group wikis. Where the student group contributes and comments on one or more wikis visible only to their group and to instructors. Individuals in the group can create new pages within the wiki.
  2. Subject wikis. Where students and instructors all contribute and comment on the same wiki. Individual students can create new pages within the wiki.

Wiki tools in UTSOnline

UTSOnline had two wiki tools available for you to use with students - the Blackboard wiki and the Campus Pack wiki. The two tools have very similar features, the major difference being that students can create their own wiki using the Campus Pack wiki and select fellow UTS students and staff with whom to share their work.

Help with creating and using a Campus Pack wiki

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You can add a Campus Pack wiki to your subject in UTSOnline, just as you would add any other tool either to the course menu or to a content area within your subject (see the pages on modifying the course menu and adding/organising content within this site). To create and configure the Campus Pack wiki see the following guides. Please note that in these help pages Teams LX refers to the Campus Pack wiki:

Help with creating and using Blackboard wikis in UTSOnline

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For more information on how to add a blog to your subject see the following three step-by-step videos from Blackboard:

The video below is also a succinct guide for creating wikis, for those already familiar with UTSOnline (4m:27sec) .

Archiving wikis at the end of semester

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If you assess student wikis you must retained this work for a period of 6 months after submission of final results (UTS Policies Procedures for the Assessment of Coursework Subjects, 2010). Wikis can be retained by exporting and downloading them or by hiding them from student view. To download a wiki use the Export site option located on the homepage of each wiki. This downloads a zip archive file of all the wiki webpages. For record-keeping purposes you can also rename the hidden wikis, adding the year and semester they were assessed. The archived wikis may be deleted after 6 months.

Related topics

 

Contact: Simon Housego or Jenny Pizzica in IML to discuss ideas relating to the use of wikis for learning (including the design of learning tasks).