Prompt: Write about your impressions of (or experiences with) wikis, and how you think they would useful for your department, classes, clubs, etc. Do wikis seem more/less/differently useful than Google Docs? Do you see yourself using this tool?
According to Wikipedia (which I assume is an appropriate source on the history of wikis, "'Wiki' (pronounced [ˈwiki] or [ˈviki]) is a Hawaiian word for "fast"."Wiki" has been backronymed by some to "What I Know Is"."
I have used a wiki, aside from my mad skills of looking up pop culture facts on Wikipedia (which I suspect is one of the areas of greatest veracity on the site), in my recent job search. There is a wiki that keeps track of the job market in academia, run by those in the 'rat race' (so to speak), to keep each other informed of status of various searches (e.g. conference interview requests have gone out, offers made, etc.). In some ways it was helpful to be kept in the loop, but in others it was all the more nerve-wracking.
In terms of use in the classroom, I have not personally used a wiki, but a colleague who teaches courses on photography uses it as a means of keeping track of sites of interest (artist websites, critical reviews, gallery exhibitions, sites of cultural import, etc.) while using different computers and then as a means of disseminating those texts to her students. The students can also add to the 'list of bookmarks' and the websites are discussed in class. I might experiment which such ideas in an upcoming class, as I think it might be quite helpful in collecting 'thinking packets' (as opposed to course packets) as we move further into the brave new world of the digital age.
And I do see them as useful in a different way than Google Docs, providing a means to keep tabs on changes - especially when the site is being collaborated upon by a large number of individuals.
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