A little Wiki Learning

I will be the first to admit, I was very intimidated by this Wiki project. I even had to email the creator (our teacher) to figure out how to access it and get clarification on what to do. After finally getting familiar with the platform and perusing for a bit, I found it was not as challenging as I thought. As a blog writer, I know my way around basic html and inserting hyperlinks and citations. Once I realized that is what most of the wiki challenges were, I was good to go.

I have been in numerous classes which required group projects. This is the first one I have been a part of where I felt everyone contributed in some way and made the project better. Most times, group work consists of emails or shared documents where edit and changes can be made by anyone with access. I have had my work deleted and changed to the point where I no longer claimed it as my own. This made for a very bad view of group projects. I am happy to say, this was not the case with this one.

I will also admit I do not know a lot about technical writing in the digital age other than basic blog writing. As I began reading what others were adding to the wiki article, I realized my best contribution would come from basic edits and adding information to the areas that I felt most comfortable. Having a wife who is working on her doctorate has helped me learn a lot about research and how to do it effectively (as well as how not to do it). I started this assignment by focusing on this area. I added what I feel were important aspects of conducting research, and why research is so important to the improvement of our society. I also made some edits in style and grammar. Another area I added some information was in the area of hyperlinking. This is one aspect of digital writing that has really brought research and the ability to find further information related to the topic to the forefront with the click of a button (whether people choose to click it and do their own research is up for debate). Making research easily accessible opens the door for those willing to take the time to form their own views and uncover truths as well as lies presented as truths.

I honestly wish I had spent more time diving into this project and providing more support to my classmates. While I did contribute, and I think my part was informative and made the page better, I know there are others who did much more than I did. I greatly appreciate this class and those in it for helping make this project as awesome as it is. I have learned a lot in this class and will definitely apply many of the tools I have learned in future courses and my professional lives. I wish everyone the best of luck in their professional and personal pursuits!!!