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Internet Integration Research 6-19-12

The document discusses research on the use of wikis in education. It explores both the benefits and challenges of using wikis, including their potential for collaboration but also barriers like lack of student motivation. While wikis can be effective tools, more training is still needed for educators on best practices. As training increases, wiki use in education is predicted to grow in the coming years, starting at the university level and gradually being integrated more in K-12 classrooms.

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80 views4 pages

Internet Integration Research 6-19-12

The document discusses research on the use of wikis in education. It explores both the benefits and challenges of using wikis, including their potential for collaboration but also barriers like lack of student motivation. While wikis can be effective tools, more training is still needed for educators on best practices. As training increases, wiki use in education is predicted to grow in the coming years, starting at the university level and gradually being integrated more in K-12 classrooms.

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landr3213
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Internet Integration Research Ryan Land/FRIT 7330 Summer 2012 1 & 2.

SUMMARIZATION OF RESEARCH ON WIKIS


For the purposes of this assignment I chose to focus on wikis and their use in education. I reviewed several articles on the subject. Some articles explored the pros and cons of wikis in the classroom, while others focused on the best practices when integrating wikis into education. Some articles were case studies attempting to assess whether wikis, as they are currently used, are even very effective at all in improving student achievement. One article posed the question of whether a paradigm shift toward more constructivist practices was needed in education to foster an effective use of such web tools. The current model of education does not prepare students to construct the knowledge of the learning process. Such skills are essential to the effective use of wikis. (Allwardt, 2011) Some of the articles very effectively explored the uses of wikis as a framework for student collaboration on tasks. Having been a student in this type of structure, I was particularly sensitive to this type of information. One article by Donne, explores whether the current use of wikis in college-level teacher training is effectively preparing them to use wikis as a facilitating tool with their own students.

3. POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF WIKIS IN EDUCATION


Wikis offer opportunities that more traditional tools do not in terms of allowing students to work to generate content (results of their work) and share it with classmates and teachers alike. Wikis are unique, in this sense, because they allow for the sharing of original content that might not be found elsewhere and provide links to information on the web that can be retrieved long after the projects are completed. (Britt and OBannon,, 2012) Also, they are not static information. Wikis leave the option of editing/updating of their content as knowledge of it evolves over time. A wiki is an excellent tool for collaboration among students as they work to create a group product/task. The potential uses of wikis for collaboration are most effective in the graduate level setting due to a heavy reliance on students to be self-motivated and strong time managers.

4. PERSONAL RESPONSE/REACTION TO USING WIKIS

In my time as a graduate student online, wikis have been used in all of my courses as both an instructional tool and as a collaborative tool with classmates. From my own experience, wikis offer a number of benefits for students. However, many students new to online learning are relatively ignorant of how to effectively use wikis. Much of the process depends heavily on consistent feedback from peers as you collaborate to generate a finished product. Often the collaboration is more difficult than the work itself, from my experience. One study revealed a similar pattern where some students circumvented the wiki assignment by meeting faceto-face and then pasting their collaborative document into the wiki.(Allwardt, 2011) When possible in my time as an online student I find it easier to collaborate face-to-face than using class wikis.

5. MERITS OF USING WIKIS


There are numerous merits to the use of wikis in education. First off, wikis allow the learner to reach beyond the old internet of html content where visitors simply locate and copy information.(Britt and OBannon, 2012) Wikis allow the student to participate in a collaborative environment where knowledge results from a group synthesis. Wikis allow for the effective practice of file sharing and the sharing of materials, resources, etc. (Donne, 2012) This use carries wikis well beyond the classroom setting and into the professional setting as a collaborative tool for working professionals. The good news here is that the barriers standing in the way of wikis being effectively used is not inherent of the tool itself. The real difficulty is simply training educators in the best practices when using a wiki as part of instruction. Once teachers are well trained on how to best use them, wikis can serve as very effective tools in education.

6. BARRIERS TO WIKIS EFFECTIVE USE IN EDUCATION


One barrier educators must overcome is the wide spread ignorance of the best practices when employing wikis as an educational tool. Wikis are gaining popularity in the classrooms because of their many benefits. Despite these benefits, there is a shortage of empirical data regarding their effectiveness in increasing knowledge. (Britt and OBannon, 2012) Another potential barrier to the effective use of wikis in education is that they are missing a critical piece of the learning puzzle. There is no motivation piece. Granted, there is a fair amount of novelty with the use of wikis as they are relatively new and allow learners to play a larger role in the synthesis of knowledge. That novelty will serve as motivation for a period of time. To a great extent, wiki-based learning environments depend heavily on selfmotivated learners to create a truly collaborative learning community. One analysis observed that a lack of student motivation was shown in the lack of activity on the class wiki in the time leading up to the assignment deadline. Allwardt observed that, Despite constant encouragement and reminders by the instructor, the

majority of students did not use the wiki until a few days before the assignment deadline. (Allwardt, 2011) Ive seen similar patterns of use in my own experience with wikis as a graduate student. Most online professors create an arena for student-to-student collaboration in the form of discussion forums on the class wiki. Often two or three students actively use the discussion forum while most of the students exhibit little or no activity beyond what is required.

7. IMPACT/EVOLUTION OF WIKIS IN EDUCATION


As more and more educators are properly trained on how to best use wikis, their wide spread use will grow. There is no denying that task will take time. So, with that in mind, I predict the use of wikis will increase in the years to come, but I predict it will take a while before they are effectively used on a large scale in education. At the university level wikis have been used for some time now, more effectively in some schools than in others. Over the next decade wikis will be most effectively used at the college level. Not to say that use with younger learners will not grow as well, but it will be most effectively be done with older, more selfmotivated learners. Grade school teachers have a larger hurdle to scale in motivating their students to use the wiki to show evidence of their work. College students, particularly graduate students, tend to have greater motivation to use the wikis because many of them are monetarily invested in their education. Also, many graduate students are earning degrees online. Distance learning forces them to use a wiki to collaborate with classmates and instructors. K-12 teachers do not have the help of tuition expenses to help motivate their students. As a result, they must be more creative in finding ways to motivate sufficient and proper use of the wikis by students in their class. I believe that motivation for active use should and will be the focus of much k-12 teacher training with wikis in the years to come.

Citation

Allsop, Y. (2011). Does Collaboration Occur when Children Are Learning with the Support of a Wiki?. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 10(4), 130-137. Avci, U., & Askar, P. (2012). The Comparison of the Opinions of the University Students on the Usage of Blog and Wiki for Their Courses. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 15(2), 194-205. Allwardt, D. E. (2011). Writing with Wikis: A Cautionary Tale of Technology in the Classroom. Journal Of Social Work Education, 47(3), 597-605.

Donne, V. (2012). Wiki: Using the Web Connections to Connect Students. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 56(2), 31-36. doi:10.1007/s11528-012-0561-9

O'Bannon, B. W., & Britt, V. G. (2012). Creating/Developing/Using a Wiki Study Guide: Effects on Student Achievement. Journal Of Research On Technology In Education, 44(4), 293-312.

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