These are not new, of course. Anybody who uses Wikipedia and has a feel for how it works understands the basic principle. It used to be everybody had a personal web page and wikis and blogs were not around. Yes, the advantage is that the software behind the web page is invisible to the end user, no html coding is necessary and it's fast and easy. Maybe TOO fast and easy because everybody feels they can edit, modify, vandalize and practically make these wikis unusable.
High school students can be particularly obnoxious when they think contributions are anonymous. Of course, in some cases it is possible to track down the offenders, but policing a wiki is really not one of my favorite activities.
Among adults this is a great collaborative tool and, even though some novices can cause havoc, wikis are usually manageable and great opportunities for collaboration. Book clubs could meet online, schools in a district could publish and modify selection policies, regulations, procedures, etc. Collective journals as byproducts of professional development are also possible.
I find that most wikis are abandoned after a fashion. They seem to be more suitablemfor short term collaborative projects.
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