WIKIs
I find it immensely interesting how the collaborative shift, that release of ownership and control over the content and form, invites a new dimension into information sharing practices. What does that say about us? I am reminded of several images from my past. . .
-In library school we learned first thing in reference class that the primary avenue people select when they wish to gain information is ask somebody close at hand.
Because we are lazy and we don't care about getting a right answer? Because we're social and we love the excuse to connect with another human being? Because we are more interested deep down in another person's opinion than in an authoritative response? Of course it depends on the question, and of course we don't always opt for the path of least resistance, but wikis remind me of this. They are social by nature. They rely on a group of people both interested and trusting of each other's contributions. They may be highly monitored and authoritative, but they clearly aren't the first choice of tool for the control freaks among us. They evolve through common interest, common connections, shared purpose and an inherent respect and desire to seek out other people's experiences. Their existence says something really nice about people.
-Another memory, farther back, elementary school maybe, middle school for sure: group project time. You've been there. Did you groan? Were you the one who did all the work when the group got the credit? Did you suffer when another person dropped the ball? Did you turn into a screeching mini-dictator and try to run the show, or did you just kinda go with the flow and detach yourself? No one ever told me out loud that the group project was its own lesson. Having nothing to do with learning the imports and exports of South American countries, the group project's real agenda was learning the imports and exports of your peers' efforts to be social and to achieve something for the common cause.
Wikis remind me a little of this, and I cringe at the image of someone posting to a wiki and being corrected or erased and posting back again stubbornly as if in a school yard power struggle. Okay, we're grown ups now, and most of us are beyond this, but the memory surfaced nonetheless. The real difference here is that Wikis allow for self selection. (The teacher seldom let us pick our groupmates or topic.) Nobody has to play in the Wiki sandbox if they don't want to! Hmmm. So actually, I didn't. I explored. I read. I learned. I could if I wanted to. But I don't. So don't look for me or my links or my favorites in the Sandbox Wiki. But I will say I enjoyed reading happy people's vacation favorites!
I find it immensely interesting how the collaborative shift, that release of ownership and control over the content and form, invites a new dimension into information sharing practices. What does that say about us? I am reminded of several images from my past. . .
-In library school we learned first thing in reference class that the primary avenue people select when they wish to gain information is ask somebody close at hand.
Because we are lazy and we don't care about getting a right answer? Because we're social and we love the excuse to connect with another human being? Because we are more interested deep down in another person's opinion than in an authoritative response? Of course it depends on the question, and of course we don't always opt for the path of least resistance, but wikis remind me of this. They are social by nature. They rely on a group of people both interested and trusting of each other's contributions. They may be highly monitored and authoritative, but they clearly aren't the first choice of tool for the control freaks among us. They evolve through common interest, common connections, shared purpose and an inherent respect and desire to seek out other people's experiences. Their existence says something really nice about people.
-Another memory, farther back, elementary school maybe, middle school for sure: group project time. You've been there. Did you groan? Were you the one who did all the work when the group got the credit? Did you suffer when another person dropped the ball? Did you turn into a screeching mini-dictator and try to run the show, or did you just kinda go with the flow and detach yourself? No one ever told me out loud that the group project was its own lesson. Having nothing to do with learning the imports and exports of South American countries, the group project's real agenda was learning the imports and exports of your peers' efforts to be social and to achieve something for the common cause.
Wikis remind me a little of this, and I cringe at the image of someone posting to a wiki and being corrected or erased and posting back again stubbornly as if in a school yard power struggle. Okay, we're grown ups now, and most of us are beyond this, but the memory surfaced nonetheless. The real difference here is that Wikis allow for self selection. (The teacher seldom let us pick our groupmates or topic.) Nobody has to play in the Wiki sandbox if they don't want to! Hmmm. So actually, I didn't. I explored. I read. I learned. I could if I wanted to. But I don't. So don't look for me or my links or my favorites in the Sandbox Wiki. But I will say I enjoyed reading happy people's vacation favorites!
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