Winning with wikis and blogs: Models for effective delivery of student online activities E-Learning Development Team University of York Simon Davis and Wayne Britcliffe

What do blogs and wikis typically enable?  Open communication –Group discussion of ideas/concepts –Peer review  Reflective writing and communication –Private channel for students to reflect on key concepts and get direct feedback from tutors BlogWiki  Collaborative document building –Group report writing or presentation development  Collaborative knowledge base creation –All participants contribute to the development of a shared knowledge base

Typical problems with wiki and blog use  Set-up does not equal engagement –Cultural challenges in adoption of Web 2.0 for formal learning –Students feel themselves “beneficiaries of teaching” rather than “participants in learning”  Wikis are often viewed as spaces for presentation of work – not drafting and negotiation –Text negotiation can be “uncomfortable” in public domain  Technical skills can be underestimated –Page design & structure; site navigation  Learning competencies often overlooked –Skills to synthesise & condense (rather than just add information) –Issues of contribution owner-ship and willingness to edit the work of others arise –Ability to constructively provide peer review & feedback

Simple examples of what you want v’s what you get  Group discussion WantGet  No posts or isolated posts un-answered  Peer review  Comments such as “Well done!”  Critical thinking & synthesis of research  Text copied and pasted from a website or online journal  Group developed reports/writing  Sections written and signed by individuals

Addressing the issues – our idea Models for successful engagement Directive Pre-formatted spaces for completion of structured activities geared towards meeting desired learning outcomes Creative Students explore course content through fictitious or contextualised scenarios Iterative Students use online spaces to develop work through iterative stages with a feedback process Discursive Encouraging dialogue between staff and students or within the whole cohort

Directive Example Social Interaction and Conversation Analysis (Sociology) Output and activity Pre-structured wikis to create stepped exercise In groups of 2 or 3 students engage with provided (audio) data-sets looking for pre-determined examples of an interaction type. They then fill in the pre-structured wiki to complete the exercise Comments Reinforced analysis methodology that is also covered in face-to face sessions Break complex activities into structured tasks Peer feedback built in to the activity template

Creative Example Violence and International Intervention (Politics) Output and activity Weekly group task: “Yorkania” role play updates Weekly individual task: Reflecting / contextualising course content with current events Comments Communal blogs prepared for face to face simulation Encourage independent research and information sharing Staff feedback provided on group and individual tasks

Iterative Example – KVE (Health Sciences) Output and activity 15 pre-titled wiki based reports Synthesis of research leading to the completion of the reports Each student contributed to three of the reports Critical friend nominated for each report wiki Comments Competitive pace to contributions Editing found more difficult than adding information Now in 4 th Year

Discursive Example – Britons at Work (English) Output and activity Open blog Engagement with relevant literature to find and present examples of gender perception in Victorian era Additional use of image media to stimulate further discursive activity Comments Online activity drawn on in face-to-face sessions Some moderation concerns Minor technical issues Running for a third time

Activity

Observations on the group work  Formal spaces for information sharing & completed work –Informal spaces for social messaging  Text negotiation challenging –“Contribute first before you edit someone else’s work”  Learning competencies –Skills to synthesis & condense, rather than add information –Ownership of contributions & willingness to edit work of others –Peer review & feedback

Lessons Learned  Module leader must be clear on: –How to use wikis –Targeted learning behaviour; how tool will be used –Participation drivers (assessment & accountability) Design  Purpose of wiki / incentives to contribute / ownership issues must be addressed  Modelling of course tasks and targeted learning behaviour – building confidence & addressing technical & learning competencies  ‘Wikiquette’: how to contribute / frequency of contributions / group roles / self-regulation & ownership issues. Induction

Lessons Learned  Just In Time instructions; technical support  Monitoring of on-line work / on-going evaluation & accountability –“little and often”  Wiki-in-progress class discussion Supporting  Class presentations on wiki work (peer accountability)  Acknowledging and summarising on-line contributions  Making explicit learning outcomes from class-based and virtual activities Interlinking & Summing up