1. USING WIKIS FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
1
Creating Wikibookian Projects to Facilitate Collaborative Learning in the Classroom
Research Analysis Paper
By Erlyn D. Fukushima
In Partial fulfiilment of the requirements for EDU 710
Erlyn D. Fukushima
Touro University
College of Education
April 2010

2. USING WIKIS FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
2
Abstract
This review seeks to show the findings of using a wiki (an interactive site that allows a person to
add and edit content that has already been published), more specifically a Wikibook, as a class
activity to enhance student writing, as well as collaborative learning between students who have
never met face to face. The premise was that students were given a writing assignment and were
then asked to post their work on Wikibook site in hopes of getting feedback and comments from
outside readers to help improve their assignment. The effects of having an “outside reader”, or
someone they were not familiar with, were in some cases, positive for the writer, but the findings
show some hesitation and uneasiness of having someone edit your work.

3. USING WIKIS FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
3
Creating Wiki Projects to Facilitate Collaborative Learning in the Classroom
With the vast diversity of information found on the internet today, the internet has opened
up an abundance of learning opportunities for today’s students. Because of this, many
universities throughout the nation have now added a technological part to their teacher credential
programs, with the hopes of readying educators for the students of the twenty-first century.
The use of a wiki is one type of Web 2.0 site that offers educators and students the ability
to publish, edit and provide feedback to those who use it. Lai and Chang wrote “Integrating
Wiki into a class, as a learning activity, allow students to benefit from the power of technology
and share knowledge and skills collaboratively. (pg. 1)” Students from different universities were
given the assignment to create a chapter for a Wikibook, an online site where you can publish
educational books, with the intent of collaborating with students from other universities to edit,
comment and critique their work. Most students had never met face to face with the class they
were partnered with.
Method
Subjects or Participants
The project was assigned to university students. A class at one university, worked
collaboratively with a similar class from another university. Students were given the task to be a
writer; to write an individual chapter for their class Wikibook, while other students chose to be
editors of the chapters. In some cases, students took on both jobs as writer or editor. After
publishing their chapters onto the online site, students from the other universities were allowed

4. USING WIKIS FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
4
the opportunity to read, comment, and provide feedback to the authors of the chapter. In some
cases, the readers were allowed to edit the chapters.
Results
. Expert Wikibookians, ones who have used wikis before, or who have grasped the idea
of the wiki, were very successful with this assignment. They understood the norms of
collaboration using the wiki, and gladly welcomed the feedback from the readers. They often
checked their pages to see comments or remarks made by others, and appeared to be confident
and interested in the collaborative outlet that using a wiki provided.
For Wikibook novices, modesty appeared to be a factor in the success of this project.
Sajjapanroj et al wrote that these “students [were] hesitant to share rough ideas, even at a
password protected site” (2006, pg.2). The reason behind this was that most students were used
to only submitting what they felt were completed and polished work. Students did not grasp the
idea that the use of a wiki allows for the virtual collaboration with others and that wikis, at times,
are works-in-progress. Some of the novices were reluctant to accept the feedback from others
they had never met, while most felt a sense of violation when their text was altered by another
reader.
Discussion
Overall, it appeared that most students felt positive about doing this project once they
accepted the true idea of online collaboration. In one case, some students had yet to publish their
final and completed chapter but still felt positive about the process thus far. The authors

5. USING WIKIS FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
5
provided clear results based on surveys they had students answer, as well as the completed
Wikibooks online.
Based on these articles, I now have a clear view of some obstacles I may face when doing
a similar project with my middle school students. I would most likely use a wiki, instead of the
Wikibook, due to the educational level of my students.
The hesitation that the university students felt about having others critique their work is
definitely something I would have to address with my self-conscious middle school students.
Modeling what would be appropriate critiques or appropriate suggestions of improvement would
be something I would have to do, as well as clearly state consequences of inappropriate behavior.

6. USING WIKIS FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
6
References
Lai, F. & Chang, C. (2008). . Wikibook Writing for Collaborative Learning. In C. Bonk et al.
(Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government,
Healthcare, and Higher Education 2008 (pp. 977-982). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Sajjapanroj, S., Bonk, C., Lee, M. & Lin, G. (2006). The Challenges and Successes of
Wikibookian Experts and Want-To-Bees. In T. Reeves & S. Yamashita (Eds.),
Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare,
and Higher Education 2006 (pp. 2329-2333). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.