Using Wikis in Learning

Some years ago I used a Wiki to help build my team’s understanding of an upcoming restructure.  There were two potential benefits in this case: Provide a chance to contribute while ensuring that the key messages got through.  I learnt a lot about using wiki’s to increase knowledge and certainly didn’t succeed in all aspects of the project!

What is a wiki?

Oddly, I think the term ‘wiki’ is becoming less well understood as time goes on.  This is caused largely by the massive dominance of Wikipedia.  I’ve actually heard two separate people ask ‘Have you looked that up on Wiki?’, as if the term Wiki has become synonymous with Wikipedia!  Very unfortunate, as it hides the rich range of collaborative production that can be achieved with these tools.

A wiki is a web site or set of web pages that allows almost anyone to edit and add content.  This is achieved with cloud-based authoring tool; typically, anyone can click ‘edit page’ and plug in whatever information they want to.  This page is then seen by others and edited by them.  Ultimately, if enough users participate, what you get is the consensus or ‘average’ view of the topic concerned.

There are a number of sites available where you can host your own wiki site, often for free.  The one I used in the example above was WetPaint.  I found it to be good for what I wanted, allowing me to customise the look and feel and control membership.  I’ve seen others used as well – they are all pretty similar.

Realistic expectations / choosing the right audience

As we know, a great deal of our employees are passive.  You either need to accept this, and force / monitor participation as you deem appropriate, or only use  a wiki for a suitably self-motivated audience.  The type of people that will gravitate towards wikis are those who are:

• Reflective, but like to contribute to a discussion.  It might take them some time to build ideas, but they are good when they come.
• Inclined to learn by written word.  Those who prefer face-to-face discussions can sometimes shun a wiki.
• Inclined to learn by self-directed research.  These people are used to searching for content and perhaps helping others on forums.  Wikis come naturally.

For those of us without such an audience (i.e. most of us!) there are some tips below.

Choosing the right topic

Wikis are good for topics with some level of ambiguity.  In the example I provided in the introduction, there was ambiguity over the sort of job roles we should have in the team, the tasks each role should perform, what we should out-source, etc.  It was a topic that could evoke differences of opinion that could be rectified through discussion.

You may want to develop a policy through a wiki.  The end result could be a fair and appropriate set of rules.  But, you don’t want to teach the policy via a wiki.  There’s just no point – the policy is already there, with nothing to be debated.  You could feasibly have a wiki about how to implement a policy, however.

A great training use could be a simulation scenario: ‘The hospital has been invaded by rabid zombies (not just normal zombies): What steps need to be taken to protect patients, equipment and ready the hospital for normal operation upon the resumption of utility services, which is anticipated exactly 48 hours after Woody Harrelson is realised?”  The resulting conversation would call upon your employees’ knowledge of BCP procedures, OH&S policies, and their knowledge of firearms handling techniques, e.g. trigger discipline.  It would be awesome.  In fact, please invite me to participate if you use this idea!

Getting started

Initially you need to clearly define what the intent and outcome of the wiki will be.  The intent will shape the way you view the participants role, and therefore how content will be managed.  Some possible intentions include:

• To promote collaboration and build a team environment.
• To inform the participants about a certain topic.
• To persuade participants to buy-in to an idea.
• To formally track users’ contribution to a communication exercise.

The intent should shape your ‘policy’ approach to the wiki, that is, how you should encourage / enforce participation, how closely content will be moderated, etc.  Document these rules / approaches, at least for your own benefit, as they will permeate through the rest of the exercise.

Seeding

After you have defined the purpose of the wiki, there are a few ways to get it operational, depending on the interest / expected participation levels from your participants.  You could:

• Simply add the wiki title and a couple of headings and send your participants a link.
• Construct a well crafted introduction email including logon instructions, your expectations, positive and negative outcomes that will result from participation / lack thereof (focus on the positive), and the actions that will take place as a result of the wiki.
• Document the entirety of the wiki and invite your audience to challenge your own findings or provide extra information.
• Add only key information in a number of sections, clearly ‘unfinished’, thus inviting correction / expansion.

At the least, your audience must understand what the outcome of the wiki will be.  Will you implement a new policy?  Will the team be assessed?  Is it just for fun?

Encouraging participation

One week in you have found that only one person has edited the wiki content.  He’s the one the others see as a geek; they knew he’d participate and this hasn’t helped matters.  What on earth can you do?

• Simply ask one of the cool kids to contribute, then subtly inform the others of the wiki progress.
• Report progress to higher ups, highlighting current participation, and let your participants see this (without it being a slap on the wrist – it shouldn’t be necessary to do that).
• Indicate that you are going to take action based on this incomplete information.  Action which you know they won’t be happy with.
• Make edits yourself, so users see different content when they next check.
• Use the current wiki content in other discussions, ensuring it’s top of mind and showing that it is actually relevant to the real world.

Are wikis worth the effort?

In the right circumstances, with the right commitment, yes.  In the ideal scenario you will end up with a bunch of people who have debated and discussed an idea and come to either a consensus or a good understanding of the different angles on a topic.  This can make all the difference in the world for some teams.

Please share your ideas on this topic.  It’s still pretty fresh – what challenges have you faced?