EDUC 639 My Wiki Experience

The First Time

I had never used a Wiki before this class. Well, I should say, I had never submitted anything to a Wiki before in my life. I had read many Wikis, but never contributed to one. The first time I went on my group Wiki for the BYOD Wiki Literature Review, I was lost. I didn’t really know how to navigate around the site.

I was at the home page, and I could see where to go to the separate pages, but I couldn’t find where to edit or add anything. I started clicking on links, but it was to no avail. That first time I never found where to edit our site.

Instead, I just read what the others had posted on there, mainly a welcome message and plans to meet on Skype later that week. I was able to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the Skype meeting by responding to the chat. After explaining my availability and reading what the consensus was, I logged off the Wiki. I was not ready to explore it completely.

That first time on the Wiki was interesting. Even though I never found where to edit the documents, I could tell this was going to be a terrific tool for our group to use for collaboration. We took advantage of the Wiki to plan out our Skype meetings. And I had been introduced to world of Wikis!

The Second Time

The second time I was on the Wiki, I felt a little more comfortable. It wasn’t a complete unknown for me anymore. I was able to read all of the submissions of my team mates and respond to their comments and questions. I was even able to read our Wiki Literature Review Proposal. It was going pretty good!

But then it came time to start submitting material for the Literature Review. I still didn’t know where the edit button was. I searched for it and found it on the top of the page. I clicked on it, and there in front of me was a way to contribute something to the Wiki. I had found how to add something to the documents.

I still didn’t know how to add new pages yet. But I read through the submissions from the others and even submitted my own information. I started seeing this seemingly scattershot collection of words come together to form a unified final product. The synthesizing of the information that had been posted to the Wiki and the Google Drive was taking shape. I could really start to see how this could be something that we could turn in. I even started thinking we might be alright after all for submitting to a professional journal. This time was very informative.

The Final Time

The final time I got on the Wiki, I was an old pro at it. I knew exactly where to go to read the submissions and how to edit documents. I responded to the comments and answered questions. I contributed my part to the Literature Review.

This time I was determined to find how to add pages to the Wiki. I searched the whole site and clicked on all the buttons. Finally, I found where to add a page! I had done it! I had officially become a Wiki editor!

We uploaded our information for our Literature Review and edited it to our liking. We added our graphic element and made sure everything was included. Then we went our separate ways to turn in our assignments. The Literature Review was done!

Looking back on this experience, I can see how this collaboration was beneficial for me. Working with three other people on this project was a good experience. I normally don’t like group projects. But this one was all right. Maybe it was the group I was with. I had an amazing team! Or maybe it was a subject I was truly interested in. Maybe it was both. But whatever the reason, this turned out to be an enjoyable experience and one I won’t soon forget.

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