Wikis are Wild or are Wilds Wikis

I like the thought of wikis becoming a substitute for the age old blackboard. Wikis seem to offer a lot when combined with the classroom setting. Although there is still authority possessed by teachers, a wiki can be used not just by the teacher but also by the students. I have never personally used a wiki but I look forward to gaining the experience. Martin states, "a class wiki provides an ideal online interface with which to address the fissures and overlaps between creative, collaborative, and theoretical work, while also providing students a space they can access and edit." An interface that allows students to collaborate seems important. Thinking about it now, it seems like a logical step. The interaction taking place in the classroom grows with a wiki. Of course in-class discussions allow the students to interact freely but this is strictly verbal. Some students might not feel comfortable speaking up. Writing is extremely important as well, but in the past this has been pretty much a teacher student one on one. Wikis allow the students to interact with each other through writing as well. The teacher is not eliminated from the equation however. Martin explains, "Because the wiki is online, the teacher can constantly check on a project's progress and also have access to which members of the group are contributing." Seems to me that a wiki gets everyone in the classroom interacting and collaborating. I can sympathize with the students that feel a bit paranoid about having other peers edit their work. I think this will pass however. I believe that students will eventually feel comfortable with this process. The preconceived notion that your words are final will change. Everything evolves and eventually your ideas will fuel somebody else's fire. This is how growth occurs. The only disadvantage of the editing process I can see now is that someone's motives might not be for the cause of education. An advantage of using a wiki in the classroom is that using digital media also increases student's skills with technology. Dusenberry explains further, "Using the technology in the classroom not only benefits their writing but also asks them to think consciously about the visual design of their documents. These skills will enhance their ability to express themselves digitally." I agree. Digital media is the way. The only thing I am confused about is the Wild. Is this another digital term or something. It occurred three times in the article. Here is an example. "The students and I found the wild to be very useful, but not without some limitations and frustrations." I assume that a wild is really a wiki. But yeah, wikis are pretty wild.