How Wiki Technology Is Helpful In Nursing Education
Whats Is Wiki Technology
Developed in 1994, wiki, a Hawaiian word meaning quick or fast, refers to the technology that enables collective authorship of linked websites (Martin, 2012). Wikis have been used in higher education since the late 1990s, allowing students to read, edit, share ideas, reorganize, add content, and create peer reviewed documents. The Wiki Tools history feature keeps track of visitors' changes and contributions, allowing page changes to be saved or reverted to a previous version.
Tracking expenses shows the accumulation of knowledge over time. When selecting wiki tools, security, cost, usability, and accessibility are important decisions (Beyer, 2012). The most famous wiki is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia.
Implementation of Wiki Technology In Nursing Education
One of the greatest benefits of wikis is the ability to facilitate group work or projects in nursing education. Ciesielka (2008) used a wiki with graduate nursing students in a community health course. Martin (2012) conducted a mixed methods study using qualitative and quantitative data to improve nursing graduate students' writing skills using a wiki and subsequently assessed their satisfaction with the task and technology. Beyer (2012) used the group wiki along with simulation as a debriefing tool for students to share immediate feedback about their experiences.
Using Wiki in these various learning processes allows students to collaborate online and share information, resources, and experiences with their peers as well as the course instructor (Kardong Edgren et al., 2009). Through discussion forums, the creation of wiki pages, and question-and-answer posts, students can analyze data, identify problems, and develop action plans, facilitating cooperative learning and interactive communication with their peers (Ciesielka, 2008). Stutsky and Doak (2013) used a wiki as a platform to create a collaborative online textbook in a university nursing program.
The collaborative design allows for peer feedback for content revision, improvement of writing skills, and a potential self-publishing opportunity (Kardong Edgren et al., 2009). The Wiki can also be used in any nursing course for written assignments such as nursing care plans, concept maps, clinical worksheets, research papers, literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, and book writing. In addition, a wiki is a useful management tool for faculty and committees (Kardong Edgren et al., 2009), allowing participants to communicate with each other, exchange ideas, publish minutes, share documents for review, and save resources.
Wiki technology is also useful for simplifying the creation of shared reports and other documents that require information from multiple sources. A wiki can be used for clinical instructor development by including course descriptions, resources, clinical requirements, student goals, and a discussion forum to explore strategies for working with students in clinical settings. Teachers can use a wiki to develop course documents and teaching materials and share teaching strategies with colleagues (Kardong Edgren et al., 2009). The Wiki writing assignment introduces students, teachers, and the community to student projects while familiarizing them with new technologies. Wiki homework encourages active participation and deeper learning.
Impact Wiki Technology In Nursing Education
Wikis are effective for teaching topics that benefit from collaborative efforts, knowledge development, and content construction expertise (Billings, 2009). The use case and simple design of wiki technology allows both students and teachers to use the tool and provides opportunities for further learning (Martin, 2012). Wiki use in nursing education and clinical settings can promote inter-professional collaboration, facilitate project development, provide peer support, and connect users with information provided by national health organizations.
Benefits of Wiki Technology For Nursing Education
Wikis are powerful innovative tools to encourage active student participation and deeper learning, and enable a collaborative approach to any type of nursing project (Martin, 2012; Stutsky & Doak, 2013). It is important to provide a nurturing and supportive environment for students to understand the potential and limitations of the wiki. Demonstrating how to create a simple wiki page with an aesthetic design, involving experts and giving students plenty of time to practice can minimize frustration.
Additional research with larger samples is needed to increase the generalization of the results and to test the efficacy and effectiveness of wikis as a pedagogical method in nursing education. Further studies are needed to support and expand the initial evidence base for innovative technology tools to help educators meet current and future nursing education needs.
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