Supporting Knowledge Creation – Using Wikis for Group Collaboration

Described as “an emerging foundation for Web 2.0” (Abram 2005), wiki technology is becoming a popular tool for collaboration in organizations and institutions around the world. Though wiki technology was developed prior to blogging technology, its functionality has not been widely used until recently. Wikis not only provide a venue through which information can be made available online, but they provide all participants the opportunity to edit that information. Groups requiring a collaborative medium, particularly over physical distances, have been among the first to take advantage of wiki functionality. Based on an extensive literature review, the results of a research project into blog and wiki use in Australian libraries (sponsored by the ALIA Ray Choate Scholarship) and evaluations of innovative wiki use including the RUBRIC Project wiki installation, this paper discusses how wiki technology enables the online collaborative process. Famous wikis such as Wikipedia have helped change the perception of the World Wide Web as an online information platform to that of an interactive and participatory space. Moving beyond Wikipedia, the paper also analyses the shift toward wiki use in the context of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 discussions, particularly in corporations, institutions, libraries, and by researchers for the purpose of supporting knowledge creation through collaborative group work.

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