This document outlines a presentation on wikis and collaborative learning. It discusses key points from Van Dijck on Wikipedia's collaborative environment. It reviews research on wikis and collaborative learning that found wikis can facilitate collaboration, provide different perspectives, and support constructivist and connectivist learning theories. However, some students were hesitant to edit others' work. Overall, studies show wikis are useful collaborative tools that can promote learning.

1. Wikis and the Proposed Benefits of
Collaborative Communities on Learning
Brittany A.
Spring 2015

2. Presentation Outline
 Van Dijck’s Key Points
 60 Minutes Segment on Wikipedia’s
Collaboration
 Collaborative Learning Theories
 Wikis and Collaborative Learning Research
[Methods, findings, implications, and relevance]
 Conclusion
 Questions/Discussion

3. Van Dijck’s Key
Points

4. Jose van Dijck & Wikipedia
 Wikipedia as a collaborative environment:
unique, peer-produced system
 Generalists and experts collaborate on site
pages
 “we need both”
 Guidelines for Contributors:
 Verifiability
 No Original Research
 Neutral Point of View (NPoV)

5. 60 Minutes Segment: Understanding
Wikipedia’s Collaborative Culture
 Described Nature of Wikipedia:
 Collaborative community of
translators, editors, fact-
checkers
 Experts and generalists
 Edits on Wikipedia in a Day:
 100,000 people around the
world
 Three times a second
 12,000 times an hour
 Taking Precautions:
 Vandalism detection bots
 Designated editors

6. Collaborative
Learning Theories

7. Collaborative Learning
Theories
 Prior cognitive psychology research details the
benefits of collaboration on learning
 Lev Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism (1978)
 Increased learning occurs in social environments
and active collaboration
 George Siemens’s Connectivism (2005)
 Importance of making connections, experiencing
diversity, and hearing varying opinions

8. Wikis and
Collaborative
Learning Research

9. What is a Wiki?
 Online collaboration tool
 Often used in educational
environments
 Allows users contribute, edit,
and delete site information
 All changes are tracked on
page history

10. Wiki and Threaded Discussion for
Online Collaborative Activities:
Students’ Perceptions and Use
 Authors:
 Andri Ioannou and Anthony R. Artino
 Journal:
 Published in the Journal of Emerging Technologies in
Web Intelligence in 2009
 Research Question:
 Investigate how online tools such as Wiki support or
promote collaborative learning

11. Methods
 Population:
 15 graduate students enrolled in Education Technology
program
 Enrolled in a learning theory online course and used
Wiki for group activities
 All students were K-12 teachers
 80% had 1-5 years teaching experience
 20% had more than 6 years experience
 Wiki Use:
 1 week of online class time dedicated to using the Wiki
 Warm-up activity: creating personal biography on site
 Group activity: Collaborating in groups of 3-4 in
response to class prompt

12. Methods
 Measurement:
 After use of Wiki site, students were surveyed
 Asked to evaluate their experience:
 Perceived learning, communication and reflection,
and satisfaction with the learning experience, and
frustration with technology
 Variables often associated with collaborative
learning studies

13. Findings
 Main Findings:
 Perceived Learning
 Other posters’ ideas provided insight into topic
(supports CL theories)
 Wiki was easy to use
 Facilitated collaboration
 Participants enjoyed seeing others' edits and hearing
other opinions
 Drawbacks:
 Users felt slightly “uncomfortable” or hesitant to
edit/delete another users’ post
 Afraid of offending others

14. Limitations
 Self-report method
 Short study (only one week)
 Control group
 There was no offline group for comparison
 Focused on perceptions of the platform
 Collaborative learning theory results come from
outside observers

15. Why Wikis? Student
Perceptions of Using Wikis in
Online Coursework
 Authors:
 Faye Deters, Kristen Cuthrell, and Joy Stapleton
 Journal:
 Published in the MERLOT Journal of Online Learning
and Teaching in 2010
 Research Question:
 How do students perceive online platforms such as
Wikis? Do they find these tools promote
collaboration?

16. Methods
 Population:
 40 graduate students enrolled in a graduate distance
education course for teachers
 Large Southeastern College of Education
 Wiki Use:
 Case study
 5 weeks during summer session
 Participants worked together in small groups to
research information (on assigned topic) and create
Wiki entries
 Participants created, revised, edit, responded to all
entries

17. Methods
 Measurement:
 After the 5 week session, data was collected via
surveys and written reflections
 Surveys used a mix of Likert-scale and open-ended
questions regarding:
 perception of Wikis to complete assignments
 Comfort with Wikis
 Effectiveness of Wikis
 Potential uses of the platform (in education)

18. Findings
 Overall positive perceptions of Wikis
 Students reported benefits to the use of Wikis
including:
 Collaborative problem solving (24/37 strongly agree)
 Teaching (28/37 strongly agree)
 Learning (28/37 strongly agree)
 Facilitating group learning (30/37 strongly agree)
 Fostering experimental learning (30/37 strongly
agree)
 Easy to use (20/37 strongly agree)

19. Limitations
 Self-report method
 Participants were already comfortable with
online institutional systems before the study
(35/37)
 Although only 13 participants had used Wiki, the
others had used some type of collaborative online
platform
 How would results have differed if participants
needed to learn the basics?
 Focused on perceptions of the platform
 Collaborative learning theory results come from
outside observers

20. Summary and
Implications for
Future Research

21. Summary and Implications
 Collaborative research environments have been
argued to promote learning
 Wikis seen as online collaborative tools
 Studies show Wikis as a useful tool for
collaboration and learning
 Research studies support Collaborative Learning
theories (Siemen and Vygotsky)

22. Discussion Questions

23. Discussion Questions
 What are your thoughts on collaborative
networks and learning environments?
 Do you believe collaborative environments are
always beneficial or do they have their
shortcomings?
 Can you think of any similar platforms (such as
wikis) that promote collaboration?

24. References
 Augar, N., Raitman, R. & Zhou, W. (2004). Teaching and learning online
with wikis. In R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer & R. Phillips (Eds),
Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE
Conference (pp. 95-104). Perth, 5-8 December.
 Deters, F. Cuthrell, K., & Stapleton, J. (2010). Why Wikis? Student
Perceptions of Using Wikis in Online Coursework. MERLOT Journal of
Online Learning and Teaching, 6(1).
 Ioannou, A. and Artino, A. (2009). Wiki and Threaded Discussion for
Online Collaborative Activities: Students’ Perceptions and Use. Journal
of Emerging Technologies in Web Intelligence, 1(1), 97-106.
 Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: Learning theory for the digital age.
International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance
Learning, 2(1).
 Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher
psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.