Wikis as Textbooks

I ran across this article discussing how a college classroom is using a wiki as their textbook and as a test question respository. The students are creating their own questions, reviewing peer writings, etc... in essence taking charge of their own learning. I liked how the professor described his role in the class.

"[The wiki] has become a really robust tool and has changed the way I teach, primarily because it means I am more of a guide to them rather than a lecturer," Kane said. "My job is to teach them how to navigate this information on the Web. The wiki is now the basis and the platform on which my class is based." ,Gerald Kane, assistant professor of information systems

Real interesting stuff and a great use of a web 2.0 tool.

Here are some comments made regarding the article...please not the student's comment.

What exactly are the students (or their parents) paying for, and what exactly do the students know at the end of the course that they didn't know before? Or does everybody just get a nice fuzzy feeling because they create their own exams and determine their own grades? And how many credits do they get for this waste of time and money?


I'll take "poor assumptions" for $800, Alex. As one of Prof. Kane's students in CiM, I can say that the course is anything but a waste. In fact, I would say it is the most valuable class I've taken.The dynamic approach means much change in class structure has certainly taken place since I took the class in Fall '06, but the CiM I remember covered globalization, collaborative/disruptive technologies, and all the ways businesses have to adapt to the new environment.