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Brian Fuller: Wikis in Audio Production

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

CAS Professor Brian Fuller shared with us the following thoughts about using wikis in his film classes.

“Making films and television programs is an inherently collaborative enterprise. And—as in the sciences—discoveries in the discipline are often the product of trial and error. I wanted a means for students in my Multi-Camera Production class to store and edit their discoveries over the life of a 14-episode variety show as they rotated through various positions of responsibility. A camera operator might gain an insight during the Wednesday show that would benefit her successor on Friday—but where could her musings be posted, accessed, added to, corrected, and improved over time? The Wiki tool seemed a naturally cybernetic clearinghouse of experimental knowledge. Its value as a proving ground for ideas is multiplied by restricting the Wiki’s audience with KnightVision enrollment.

Because panicked activity often characterizes the days we record shows—and because some students are just quiet wallflowers when it comes to class discussion—Wiki entries revealed reflective engagement with the production process that might not otherwise have come to my attention. I began to use the Wiki as one factor in a class participation grade (since the tool does me the favor of identifying contributors by name).

Borrowing some pedagogy from my colleague Daniel Garcia, my use of the Wiki migrated to an Audio Production course. The class often requires that I lecture hunched over a studio mixer or with a boom microphone in my hand. Thus, a concurrent outline of my notes on PowerPoint or whiteboard is frequently impractical. At the end of such classes, I’ll ask a student to post notes for the day to the Wiki. Because students don’t know in advance which of them will be chosen “class scribe,” I find they all take more thorough notes. It’s like a pop quiz, a class participation grade, and a service project all in one. And using Wiki means the scribe can later be edited by peers and prof.”

Interested in learning more about wikis and how to use them in your course? Contact one of our team members for a personal consultation.