Benefits and Challenges of Using Wikis

A wiki can do a lot for a class, but only when the teacher plans for both sides of it. This article covers what students gain from a wiki and the problems that show up when one is left to run on its own.

Benefits of using wikis

Wikis help students develop several skills:

1. Collaboration and teamwork
2. Writing and editing
3. Critical thinking
4. Responsibility for group work
5. Information literacy and source evaluation
6. Digital citizenship
7. Communication

A wiki also makes group work fairer. The teacher can see who contributed and who did not from the version history, instead of guessing at the end.

Flashcard

How can students divide work on a class wiki?

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Answer

Split a topic into sub-topics, one per group.

1. Each small group researches and writes one sub-topic on its own wiki page.
2. The pages are linked together to form a class study guide.
3. Every student depends on every other group’s work.

Challenges of using wikis

A wiki alone does not create collaboration. The teacher must design the task, set rules, and check the work. Wikis need careful planning. Common problems include:

1. Unequal participation: one student writes most of the content while others coast.
2. Copy-paste from the internet: students paste rather than rewrite, with no citation.
3. Wiki vandalism: students delete or overwrite a peer’s work.
4. Inaccurate content: wrong facts get added and not fixed.
5. Weak citation: sources are not named or linked.
6. Technical problems: login issues, lost edits, or slow internet.
7. Weak teacher monitoring: edits go unread until it is too late.