A new high-tech take on school group project. Teachers share lessons learned about wikis

Israeli business school professor Sheizaf Rafaeli hated seeing his students shell out money for expensive, outdated textbooks. So he let them write one themselves.

He put up an old textbook he published about information systems on a wiki and required his class to make updates. By the end of the term, not only was his textbook more current and comprehensive, his students didn’t pay a dime — and those who updated frequently scored better on exams.

Rafaeli’s book is an example of how wikis could change classrooms from the ground up, a topic at the Wikimania conference this weekend at Harvard Law School, where Rafaeli’s work will be presented to wiki enthusiasts and academics from around the world.

By Kim-Mai Cutler, Globe Correspondent

Full Story: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/08/04/a_new_high_tech_take_on_school_group_project/