Wiki_Writing

 

 

Barton, M. & Cummings, R.E. Eds. (2008). Wiki writing. Ann Arbor, MI: Digital Culture Books. 280 pages. Retrieved from http://www.digitalculture.org/wikiwriting.html.

 

 

Introduction
Summary
Critique and Conclusion

 

Introduction

The chapters that comprise Wiki Writing (2008), edited by Matt Barton and Robert E. Cummings, collectively argue that wikis can, if employed properly, yield fruitful returns for both the instructor and the students in higher education courses. This text does not exhaustively list pros and cons for every existing wiki; rather, it provides tales of experience from instructors and students who have used wikis in the classroom. Consequently, much of the text offers pragmatic suggestions for anyone who may be interested in either learning more about wikis in general or learning how to implement the wiki in a course. As editors Barton and Cummings write, they are "mainly concerned with helping students, teachers, administrators, and other stakeholders in higher education understand the potential for wikis in the college classroom" (pp. x-xi). To that end, they divide Wiki Writing into three sections: Wikis and the Scholarship of Teaching, Wikis in Composition and Communication Classrooms, and Wikis and the Higher Education Classroom. These sections are prefaced by a short chapter by Cummings that provides a brief history of the wiki.