Let's Wiki in Class

In 1995, Ward Cuningham created the first Wiki and claimed that it is the “simplest online database that could possibly work”. Six years later, with the birth of Wikipedia, wiki has become more popular. It is now used in business, community networking as well as education. The main feature of a wiki is it allows users to work collaboratively on projects. In the business community, wikis, also known as enterprise wiki, are widely used to disseminate information, exchange opinions on projects and market products. In community network, its usage includes the pursuance of a shared interests and/or aims. Wiki has also been used rather widely in education as a teaching tool. It has been argued that wiki can be effectively used to encourage students’ participation in and outside the classroom. This paper will attempt to discuss the relationship between wiki and various approaches to learning, how a wiki is used and also some problems of using wiki as a teaching tool in a language class.