The high school instructors were not impressed with us—to say the least. (If they could have set us on fire with their eyes, they would have!) We tried showing them how to navigate around the CompFAQs wiki, but they ultimately were upset at the insinuation that we (pompous graduate students) thought they needed to learn how to use this difficult application. They most certainly did not have time to fiddle with this contraption! We tried showing them how to add to the wiki; after all, the point was to collaborate! Our time could have been better spent introducing these teachers to a more user-friendly wiki—like PBwiki. We could have showed them how to set up a wiki in under 30 seconds. We could have also showed them all of the resources that PBwiki has specifically for educators. Perhaps these high school instructors would have been less resistant if the wiki we presented on was as simple as the PBwiki. (I did say perhaps.)
For instructors who fear losing face-to-face interactions with their students by incorporating a wiki in their class, PBwiki offers a new feature: voice chat—a plug-in that allows users to speak to each other over the wiki! Communicating via digital spaces can often feel distancing, but with voice chat, users also can have a more personal interaction as well. The video below shows how easy installing and using voice chat is:
User-friendliness, which helps promote this kind of collaboration, is the key to a successful wiki. Within the time span of one year, the wiki has become a popular tool for educators, and as they continue to become easier and easier to use, the resistance to incorporating this kind of resource into classrooms should lessen.
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