Wikis and Collaborative Learning

Wikis and Collaborative Learning

EDUC1049 – Blog Assignment

As online resources and new technology are becoming ingrained into the curriculum, educators are employing new techniques and activities, one such example being wikis. Succinctly, these online boards are intended to promote collaborative learning. These resources allow students and teachers to upload, view and edit content online that can be accessed by all users involved. Their primary purpose is to provide online collaboration capabilities to students and teachers, however, as with most technology, I believe there are still undiscovered potential affordances. 

I found an interesting podcast on the EDUCAUSE website regarding wikis, linked here: EDUCAUSE: Wiki Podcast

Four of the potential educational uses of wikis according to Jude Higdon in the podcast: (Oblinger, 2006)

1. Peer Review–It could be argued that many students are likely to feel more apprehensive about providing face to face peer review, however, this then  allows more constructive potentially anonymous feedback. Though this could be exploited and result in negative feedback or at worse, cyber bullying. Furthermore, I personally believe online communication such as this, and other varieties like Facebook, can in some susceptible individuals develop a social dependance towards digital communication, neglecting essential face-to-face social skills.

2. Collaborative Research (Database) – I consider this one of the greatest affordances of wikis over traditional group work platforms. Students can locate content and upload it to the wiki, making it instantly available for all involved to utilize. This includes embedding videos, audio files, podcasts, images, text, linking URLs or other useful sources. Additionally, most wikis offer the capability for other students to edit or comment on uploads, enabling provision of feedback or discussion of the content. Once again, this brings inherent risks, as it could support plagiarism.

3. Student Portfolio – Another affordance of a wiki is as documentation of student’s work, either private or public. I believe this feature is definitely worth introducing to students, as increasing numbers of employers make use of online services or applications to advertise for positions, Linkedin (http://au.linkedin.com/) for example.

4. Class Project – I have experienced a wiki for the purpose of a class project with mixed results. Whilst I support wikis as a collaborative tool, it was utilized only for the submission of the assessment. A simple Facebook group served our purpose much more efficiently. Without the added inconvenience of having to login to Blackboard and wade through different pages to find the wiki link, we could easily communicate ideas and upload files to a forum that was much more likely to be viewed. However, perhaps if the wiki was more accessible and more likely to be frequently seen by group members, it would have provided an effective means of collaborating for the class project.

“a dynamic and interactive alternative to conventional course platforms” - Leila May-Landy (Learning, 2008)

 

 Speakers: Derrick Higginbotham, Leila May-Landy, Dan Beeby - New Media in Education 2008 Conference, hosted by the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning

References:

Learning, C. C. f. N. M. T. a. (Producer). (2008). Promoting Collaborative Learing Using Wikis. New Media in Education 2008 Conference. [Video] 

Oblinger, D. (2006). Uses of Wikis. EDUCAUSE. 6. Retrieved May, 2012, from http://www.educause.edu/blogs/dianao/educause-pocket-edition-6-uses-wikis