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Article: Wiki Pedagogy

Dossiers Technopédagogiques: Wiki Pedagogy, by Renée Fountain. Abstract: This article endeavours to denote and promote pedagogical experimentations concerning a Free/Open technology called a “Wiki”. An intensely simple, accessible and collaborative hypertext tool Wiki software challenges and complexifies traditional notions of - as well as access to - authorship, editing, and publishing. Usurping official authorizing practices in the public domain poses fundamental - if not radical - questions for both academic theory and pedagogical practice.
The particular pedagogical challenge is one of control: wikis work most effectively when students can assert meaningful autonomy over the process. This involves not just adjusting the technical configuration and delivery; it involves challenging the social norms and practices of the course as well (Lamb, 2004). Enacting such horizontal knowledge assemblages in higher education practices could evoke a return towards and an instance upon the making of impossible public goods (Ciffolilli, 2003).

Pedagogical Potential. ‘Wikis are new to the university context. (Some recent implementation practices are presented in Examples section, and several guidelines for wiki use are offered in Evaluation Tools section). Wiki pedagogy is literally - and figuratively - “in-the-making”. Wikis, both in and by their ontological existence, circumvent traditional power/knowledge relations. What these democratizing tools may - and may not - enact in and across educational settings remains to be seen. While the descriptions about their potential enactment are brief, the issues they invoke are complex and challenging.’