Teaching and Learning Conference6/7/10

Using Wikis in University Teaching

Ken Clark

Economics

School of Social Sciences

Aims

• Briefly discuss the use of wikis in the higher education environment

• Describe and illustrate my experience of using a wiki to co-ordinate groupwork on a third year optional module in Economics

• Outline some advantages and some issues

Motivation

• Inspired by Tapscott and Williams’ Wikinomics– “How mass

collaboration changes everything”

– Harnessing power of the internet to improve knowledge through collaboration

Wikis

• Online repositories of information and platforms for collaborative knowledge creation– Open source– Collaborative

• E.g. Wikipedia• Example of Web 2.0 technology• Likely to become ubiquitous (Tapscott and

Williams)?

Wikis at University

• Knowledge construction in the classroom is, or at least ought to be, open source and collaborative

• Offer a platform for the creation and assessment of individual and group work

• Impart Web 2.0 skills which seem likely to be increasingly valuable in the workplace

Wikis at University

“Universities are losing their grip on higher learning as the Internet is, inexorably, becoming the dominant infrastructure for knowledge—both as a container and as a global platform for knowledge exchange between people—and as a new generation of students requires a very different model of higher education.”

(Tapscott and Williams,2010, Innovating the 21st Century University, Educause 45:1)

My project

• In collaboration with Peter Whitton, formerly of CEEBL

• Labour Economics: third year optional module for economics students

• 117 students this year (used to be 40!)

• Assessment: formerly 1/3 by essay, 2/3 by exam

• Wiki-based assessment replaced essay

Wiki-Based Assessment

• Counts for 1/3 mark

• Students divided into groups – planned: 20*6, realised: 17*(5-8)

• Each group assigned a topic/task– like an essay/tutorial question– some more structured than others– based on reading the literature– broadening and deepening lecture material

Wiki-Based Assessment• 5 weeks to complete a wiki “section” on their

topic• After roughly 2 weeks get feedback from

me/other students on what they’ve done so far– give presentation in tutorial class

• After another 2 weeks or so submit their wiki for assessment

• Once all finished, open all wikis up as online textbook for all students

Assessment/Marking• Group mark assigned by me on basis of

content and presentation of the wiki• Individual marks assigned by group on

basis of evidence of individual inputs to wiki

Look at examples

• Links

• Photos/diagrams

• Widgets

• Content?

Evaluation• Generally well received by students

–Around 80% agreement with the statements: • “Did you enjoy doing the wiki-based

assessment?”,

• “Do you think the skills learned will be useful?”

–“Very good method of assessment and will be useful revision aid”

Evaluation

– “Probably the most enjoyable course I've done this year. Really enjoyed the groupwork!”

– “It was refreshing to do an alternative form of assessment”

– “The wiki …required us to think outside the box and when working with other people allowed us to understand that there are a lot of different viewpoints and thoughts on just one topic from one small group of people.”

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

08_09 09_10

Agree

Mostly Agree

Neither

MostlyDisagree

Disagree

University Questionnaires:

The feedback I received on my work was helpful (%)

Evaluation

• Very much enjoyed by instructor!– Boosted my enthusiasm for teaching (this

course)– New skills, but also learned about content– Reduced marking burden– Transformed my attitude to teaching

• Much more open to innovation, Web 2.0, etc.

Issues

• How much “wikiness”?– Use of other software, face-to-face meetings, lack

of peer review

• “Why should I learn this, I’m doing an economics degree?”

• Free-riding (group work)• Intensive for course tutor• Did their knowledge improve?

– Content not always better than essays– Exam marks better?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

08_09 09_10

Agree

Mostly Agree

Neither

MostlyDisagree

Disagree

University Questionnaires:

The skills I learned will be valuable (%)

Conclusion

Wikis represent an effective method of

• co-ordinating assessed groupwork

• providing opportunities for feedback

• exposing students (and instructors!) to valuable new skills