It is so ironic that I "forbid" my students to use Wikipedia as their reference material and yet I asked them to use Media Wiki (the concept is very similar to Wikipedia) to submit their assignments. Like most of my students, I am new to Media Wiki . Like most of my students, I am willing to learn new things. "Get with the program" , "Be technology savvy" if you like. I would like my students to feel that if I can do it so can they. The Generation Y students are "supposed" to be more computer savvy than a Generation X lecturer like me. With all the media tools available; Facebook, Twitter, My space, blogs etc. Almost all the students I asked have a Facebook page; some even have a blog or two. How hard is it to upload pictures and write something I thought? Well, apparently, it is quite hard when you have to write something technical and not about something you are passionate about or would like to whinge about. What is there to whinge about construction and structures in a commercial and industrial building? (That's what I am teaching by the way). They can't simply say what they want about the subject without researching the subject deeply and going to the site to see what is actually happening during and after the construction plus talking to the site engineer or the project manager. They need to know the terminology used in construction and the structural connections used in commercial and industrial buildings. You would learn more from looking at how things work than trying to visualize how it will work when you read something in the book wouldn’t you?
Why Media Wiki I hear somebody asked? I know there are other media tools that I can use such as Google docs but our university has hands on support teams for Media Wiki which is very useful for a novice like me and for student’s queries. I am also trying to save trees for future generation. On top of that, it cost money for the students to print their assignments especially in colours as most of the sketches and photos are in colour. Media Wiki is also a good tool for collaborative work. It enables the group members as well as the assessors to “check” who and when someone add or delete anything on the Media Wiki . Basically the students have to have a very solid excuse for not contributing to the group assignment. It allows the students to discuss their ideas in the discussion page before submission. This is ideal for students who can’t attend the group meetings but still can contribute to the assignment with their ideas in Media Wiki. Hence, the justification of work load can be justified. Thus this is another reason why I chose Media Wiki for my unit’s assignment submission.
Will I use Media Wiki again after this? The answer is yes. I see great future in media wiki eventhough some students argue that they won’t be using media wiki when they start working. It is a good way of students to be engaged in cooperative learning activities.I feel that it educate students of different ways of submitting assignments other than the paper-based form. There is no standard in Media Wiki thus I believe Media Wiki allows student to explore possibilities of being creative in presenting their work.
