Matt+Barton.+Embrace+the+Wiki+Way!

=**Barton, Matt.** "Embrace the Wiki Way!"= //TikiWiki//. 2004. Online.

Abstract
Not Available

Argument
This article located on Dr. Matt Barton's personal website argues that wikis can be useful in classrooms. Dr. Barton briefly explains what a wiki is and how wiki communities nullify security concerns by policing themselves. After the short introduction, the article considers possible projects suited for a wiki and highlights projects that are not suited for wiki environments. Furthermore, Dr. Barton proposes specific projects for composition classrooms, then concludes by clarifying that "true" wikis (free, anyone can edit) should be used and warns against using wikis to simply do what has been done under old paradigms. Instead the article recommends finding new ways to use "pure" wikis.

Specific projects for composition classes recommended by Dr. Barton include the following: .
 * 1) Any class project with a reference or encyclopedic format. Instructions, manuals, glossaries, and the like are all excellent wiki applications.
 * 2) A class or group project with a bibliographic format. Students could gather websites related to a topic, then annotate, rank, and organize them.
 * 3) A letter or statement presented on behalf of the class. These documents occur often enough in the business world, where the "on behalf" basically means that everyone involved signed off on a draft. On a wiki, such a project would offer everyone a better chance to make a contribution.
 * 4) A handbook or textbook. Students could build a guide to correct punctuation and evaluated as a class. Thus, every student would have a stake in the project and likely benefit from the instruction it contained. Students are also familiar with "textbook" English and its avoidance of personal-sounding prose.
 * 5) Any other project that does not require specified authorship or protected documents. Wikis are authored by communities, not individuals.

Key Passages
"In short, wikis are protected not by code, or by law, but rather by the participation of an active wiki community. If you are proud of your entry, you will feel compelled to see what's up if you receive a notification that the entry has been changed, and "roll it back" if it's obvious the page was vandalized or rendered less intelligent."

 "quit trying to make wikis do what you could do under the old paradigms, and try instead to think of ways to use "pure wikis" effectively. "