Reflection and Forward

The Wikibook project has been an incredible learning experience. It presented many new challenges and expanded the potential for in-depth learning throughout the process. Most people, including myself, are used to the writing process model. You research for a long while, then write the rough draft(which others rarely see), then revise(most people never see this either), then revise again before finally submitting a final copy. This presented a big challenge and required a major shift in thinking. Since a Wikibook can be edited at anytime by any registered user, posting the rough draft as content is not a bad practice - in fact it's a pretty good one. This enables other group members to see what has been posted, make changes as needed, and leave feedback for you on the wikibook discussion page. Of course, if you want to revert back to the original copy, Wikibooks keeps track of the page history.

A Wikibook absolutely has a place in high schools and colleges. Perhaps even kids in middle may even be able to benefit. I say high school and colleges first because a Wikibook does require the student to be somewhat motivated internally. Much of this work can be done at home or otherwise outside the classroom. A Wikibook gives students the opportunity to post their own content, collaborate with fellow classmates, and learn by doing. At the end of the class, the final Wikibook is still on the web so anyone with access to the internet can access their book which gives kids a sense of ownership that few projects ever can. Kids can go home and share the Wikibook with family and other friends and that information is now out there for others to learn from. Our Wikibook, for example, is the greatest reference for my job description available and it is continually going to be updated as times change which standard textbooks cannot do. So the next year, another class of students can edit the book and make updates to it so the book never becomes outdated.

I gained so much knowledge from participating in this project. Since I was given so much time to complete my section, I had plenty of time to research my section and consult many different sources. When it came time to put my content together I had actually gained so much knowledge that I was able to write most of the content myself and go back and insert references after the first draft was complete. Now being able to see the book in its entirety and see what other groups did, it is incredibly rewarding to say that we have the most comprehensive job description for a technology director out there right now.