Garza+and+Hern.+Using+Wikis.

=Garza, Susan L & Hern, Tommy. "[|Using Wikis As Collaborative Writing Tools: Something Wiki This Way Comes-Or Not!]"=

Abstract
This webtext focuses on the use of wikis as a tool for writing and teaching writing. Wikis are presented as a tool to enrich education though their ability to foster collaboration and spread knowledge to a seemingly unlimited number of individuals. The authors argue that the nature of the dynamic open-course wiki system is preferable to closed-course systems and allows writers to be more actively involved in the act of producing and distributing writing. The authors also discuss the use of wiki as a collaborative writing tool and how it creates an environment that makes it easier and more comfortable for writers to collaborate. An explanation of the wiki system and examples of how the authors have used wikis in the teaching are also included.

Argument
 Wikis (WikiWikiWebs) are server-based collections on the World Wide Web which allow a boundless number of users to quickly create, edit, and post pages made by themselves or by other users. The authors of this piece, educators at Texas A&M University, inform their students that their wiki pages can be viewed by anybody and that they are posted in an open environment. However, these teachers had to take on a battle to prove the vitality of wikis in their classrooms after receiving news from the provost of Texas A&M that a student had not completely cited credit where credit was due. The argument centers on the concept that wikis provide flexibility and simplicity, allowing teaching to be centered on the writing process rather than the product. Wikis break away from the limited writing process that students face when using word processing programs and allow them to flourish in an undisclosed world.

Key Passages
"WikiWikiWebs are server-based collections of hypertext pages based on an "open-editing" system concept originated in 1995 by Ward Cunningham (Leuf & Cunningham, 2001)."

"One of the greatest advantages offered by wikis is that writers are no longer restricted to one-dimensional text-on-the-page writing."

“Theories of writing as process and of knowledge and language as social constructs become real when using wikis.” –A Wiki Story

"We make three assertions to begin: Writing is messy. Writing is a socially collaborative act. Wiki technology is a tool that enables writers to get into the mess and the social nature of writing." -Wiki and Composition Theory

“Today one of the first steps in planning a collaborative project might be to decide what technology we might use. However, in spite of the promise of technology, and our growing dependence on it, we still don't fully understand the effects it can have on the collaborative writing process.” –Wiki as a Collaborative Tool

Selected Works Cited
Cook, K. C. (2002). Layered literacies: A theoretical frame for technical communication pedagogy. //Technical Communication Quarterly //, 11, 5-29.

Murray, D. M. (1997). Teach writing as a process: Not product. In V. Villanueva, Jr. (Ed.), //Cross-talk in comp theory//(pp. 3-6). Urbana, IL: NCTE. (Reprinted from "The Leaflet", November 1972, 11-14.)

Murray, D. M. (1984). Writing and teaching for surprise. //College English// 46, 1-7.

 Sharples, M., Goodlet, J. S., Beck, E.E., Wood, C.C., Easterbrook S.M., & Plowman, L. (1993). Research issues in the study of computer supported collaborative writing. In M. Sharples (Ed.), //Computer supported collaborative work// (pp. 9-28). Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer-Verlag.

 Spinuzzi, C., & Zachary, M. (2000). Genre ecologies: an open system approach to understanding and constructing documentation. //Journal of Computer Documentaton//, 24, 169-181.