Critical Assessment of Wikis as a Collaborative Tool

Critical Assessment of Wikis as a Collaborative Tool


The utilisation of this wiki site was a new experience for some members of this group. Though the benefits which it promised as a collaborative tool were seen, there were some limitations also. A newcomers’ lack of knowledge to the application proved to be a challenge in terms of understanding how certain tools would operate on the wiki- website during the design phase of our project. In addition to this, another limitation to collaboration is the fact that changes to the project could only be accomplished by one group member at a time. This meant that although access to view the project on the site was not a problem editing and designing in real time and as a group problems are encountered. In addition to this, there were some problems seen as well. Pictures could not be edited properly once uploaded. Uploading pictures was a problem for some members as well. In addition to this, the fact that editing could be done to someone else’s work brought the issues of security and protection of one’s work into question.

However members of the group who are familiar with the application found it to be a simple tool to utilise even with the given limitations. Group collaboration helped those who had difficulties to accomplish tasks and understand the operations of the wiki site. It was seen that it allowed members to edit each other’s work and improve the standard and quality of the group’s work. It proved to be a good way to pull together as a team/group and brainstorm ideas in order to get the best of the lot. The wiki site was found to be useful in the initial stages of a project since members could design and redesign as according to opinion and preferences. Group learning and applicative learning was promoted as well.

Advantages and Disadvantages
The following are advanatages and disadvantages for the use of Wikis:

ADVANTAGES OF USING WIKIS
 * Wikis are edited in a web browser. As long as a user can access the web they can access the wiki.
 * Wiki sites replace the need for physical storage of documents. Users can access information relevant to projects, by simply logging onto their wiki site in order to have access to all the information they need.
 * Emailing a large document to several people can take time and some people may not receive it due to spam filters. By using a wiki one user can share his or her work with all of the users at the same time.
 * Another advantage to using a wiki is that all the drafts of a document are saved, so going back to original information placed on the wiki site can be easily retrieved.
 * A wiki can be protected with a password so you don’t have to worry about the public viewing it.
 * A wiki also gives the advantage of being able to put many ideas together and allowing user to go back at any time necessary to edit information.
 * Team members can provide input on what has been done on behalf of the project and what they still need to do by means of the built in messenger interface.
 * When communicating through a wiki there is no worry about emails getting lost or thrown away. All communications will be kept inside the wiki. Users can also upload files to the wiki, which is another great tool for collaboration.

DISADVANTAGES OF USING WIKIS
 * Information placed on a wiki can be found by other people in cyberspace. Wiki’s can be protected by using a password, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t hack into it.
 * Wikis do make it easy for several people to brainstorm and collaborate on projects by adding content to a group website, but if no one is keeping tabs on the content, it can get pretty confusing.
 * If someone in a group is not tech-savvy, they may be very timid and scared about using the wiki.
 * Without an internet connection, users will be unable to access the wiki, and therefore, they will be unable to access their work.
 * There are many types of wikis available to choose from. Some of these can be confusing as to how to install and how to back it up.
 * You cannot work simultaneously on the same pages.

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