Wikis for learning

By Jeff Brainard | January 9, 2008, 11:13 am | 0 Comments

Jerry Kane, Assistant Professor of Information Systems at Boston College, recently posted an interesting video discussing lessons learned from deploying Socialtext wikis in his classroom. Jeanne Meister, a thought leader that works with Chief Learning Officers in Fortune 500 enterprises globally, brought this interesting video to my attention.

From Kane’s experience, he identified some key lessons for deploying wikis that are valuable to any educational institution or enterprise deploying wikis for the first time including:

*Define the scope* – What is the purpose of the wiki? Who will use it? What will they use it for? And how do you hope the wiki will benefit them?
*Set the tone* – It’s critical to start the wiki with the right focus to position for success. This includes getting the right involvement, seed content and structure early on in the process.
*Harness peer power* – Recognize that wikis can tap the ‘wisdom of crowds’ and provide great value, since amateur crowds are consistently better than the best experts.
*Find a champion* – It’s critical to have core editors leading the wiki and managing the process of ‘gardening’ on an ongoing basis to enforce best practices and guide the wiki community.
*Start with a pressing issue* – Find an idea, project or specific use-case that will stimulate the most immediate adoption and interest to drive active usage and contribution.

Watch video now – click here.