Instructional Technology Conference 2008

Title: eLearning and Collaboration

Name: Ra Shaunda V. Sterling

Audience Level: Beginning and intermediate

Audience:

Length: 30 minutes

Abstract:
The article provides considerations for integrating wikis in freshman composition courses. The researcher assigned 21 students to 7 work groups in one section of English 101. Each group constructed wiki entries for grammar-related topics. Students reported frustrations due to perceived low technology self-efficacy. They were reluctant to use the technology or refer to the wiki when answering grammar questions. The researcher examines students' difficulties and explains the challenges of using wikis in the classroom.

Description:
Wikis, hypertext documents that can be edited by anyone, are at the forefront of a movement toward collaborative, web-based communication. Currently, little empirical research is available on wikis' impact on cognitive and instructional processes; the available literature, much of it anecdotal, is gleaned from trade journals and popular magazines. However, the information presented thus far is convincing. Rigid, print-based modes of expression are being used less frequently, while newer methods of communicating via electronic devices and computer applications (wikis, blogs, podcasts, RSS, etc.), labeled the Web 2.0, are on the rise. Because of their relative ease-of-use, inexpensive set-up, collaborative capabilities, and supposed instructional and cognitive benefits, wikis are growing in popularity as tools for creating, editing, analyzing, and disseminating shared bodies of knowledge for large groups of people, whether students, researchers, or employees.

The study provides considerations for effectively integrating wikis in freshman composition courses. The researcher assigned 21 students to 7 work groups in one section of English 101. Each group constructed a wiki entry for a grammar-related topic in the section's course management system. Students reported frustrations due to perceived low technology self-efficacy. They were resistant to using the technology and were reluctant to refer to the wiki when answering questions about grammar concepts. The researcher examined students' difficulties in an effort to explain some of the challenges educators face when using wikis in the classroom, with an emphasis on how to minimize problems while maximizing success. The study also presents the history of wikis, describes the most popular wiki engines and wiki hosting sites currently available, and explains how wikis can be used to facilitate communication and collaboration. Additionally, it enumerates the advantages and disadvantages of wide-spread wiki adoption in educational institutions and enterprises.

Audience: The article is most beneficial for teachers, researchers, or anyone who recognizes the problematic aspects of conventional communication methods that often result in missed deadlines, misplaced information, and poor feedback.

Session Type: Lecture/Presentation

Contact information/affiliation:
Ra Shaunda V. Sterling
University of South Alabama
Department of English
Humanities Building, Room 240
307 University Blvd., N.
Mobile, AL 36688-0002
Cell: (254) 495-9607
Work: (251) 460-6146
Email: rvsterling@usouthal.edu
WWW: rvsterling.com/professional

Equipment: Computer with Internet access, LCD projector

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