USING A WIKI ENVIRONMENT TO FACILITATE THE LEARNING

IN THE SUBJECT "ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION"

D. Altmajer Vaz, A. Fernandez Arteaga, M. García Román

University of Granada (Spain)

E-mails: deisiav@ugr.es, jandro@ugr.es, mgroman@ugr.es

1. Introduction

A ‘wiki’ is basically a website that allows the creation and editing of a number of webpages by several users asynchronously [1].

Together with blogs, wikis are one of the most popular tools and one of the most used of the Web 2.0 [2].

Some advantages of the use of wikis for teaching are: Easiness of use: neither teachers nor the students need special software

or hardware for accessing and editing a wiki site. Just a computer connected to the Internet is enough.

The use of wiki implies a change in the attitude of the students and contributes significantly to the development of important competences.

Changes in the traditional role of the university teacher: the main responsibility is now to facilitate and guide the learning process rather than to simply transmit knowledge to the students [3].

Wikis are an excellent tool for collaborative learning: all the members of the wiki became collaborators, editors, and evaluators.

2. Objetives

The main objectives of this work are: Give the students the opportunity to carry out a collaborative

project on a wiki environment; Motivate the students to make their own decisions on the contents

which should be included in their study, as well as encouraging them to make a critical use of the information resources used (particularly as regard web-based resources);

Enhance the felling of responsibility of the students for their own work.

Furthermore, other objectives of this project are: Promote among the students the necessity of observing all the

aspects related to publishing licenses, as well as the habit of referencing correctly all the resources used to carry out their work.

Share with the general public the results obtained in the teaching-learning process.

3. Methodology

The students were invited to join the project, and those who decided not to join it followed an evaluation based on a final exam.

To show their adhesion to the project the students signed a document corroborating their intention to participate in the creation of the wiki. The response of the students was very enthusiastic, 90% of them taking part in the project.

Those who decided to participate in the wiki will be evaluated according to their contribution, this evaluation accounting for a 20% of their final qualification.

First step: A survey was made to know the initial point of view of the students on

wiki-aided learning.

Second step:

3. Methodology (2)

Third step:

Three groups have been formed (30 students each) and three different topics had been assigned to each group.

The topics were previously presented in the classroom, although without going into details. Each group must work only on the topic assigned to it.

Fourth step:

A practical lesson was given in which the students were taught on the wiki platform chosen (Wikispaces).

A set of rules on the elaboration of the online contents was given to each student.

3. Methodology (3)

Final steps:

Once the elaboration of the wiki started, the process began to be monitored by the teachers.

Individual or group meetings were held with the students to inform them on the more relevant points found by the teachers.

Final self-evaluation of the students (by means of a survey).

Final evaluation of the wiki (by the teachers). The individual contributions represent a 50% of the qualification of the wiki, and the remaining 50% correspond to the final result.

Final meeting with all the students to present the main conclusions.

As a part of the wiki the students had to make a common glossary including the more relevant words and concepts of the three topics studied. They were also told to include a separate ‘References’ page, including all the details of the resources (papers, books, web pages) used to carry out their work.

4. Results and discusion

4.1 Initial survey

An initial survey was conducted to asses the motivation and interests of the students who joined the project.

The results of the survey show that the response of students was very positive, a vast majority of them (85%) disagreeing with an evaluation system based on a single exam.

Virtually all the students find that traditional work groups, which require the presence of all their members to organize and distribute the tasks, give rise to several problems particularly as regards the unequal task distribution and the difficulty to find a schedule suitable for all the members.

Some students (67%) consider that the construction of the wiki “promotes the searching of scientific information and the exchange of ideas with their classmates”. They (30%) also admit that that wikis “represent an interesting way of working in group” or “constitute a way of divulgating the work done in class”.

Remarkably for students in their final year, a 67% of them acknowledged that they have never participated in a computer-aided collaborative-learning experience.

4. Results and discusion (2)

4.2 Practical Lesson

A practical lesson was given to the students to familiarize them with the software that will be use for creating and editing the wiki (Wikispaces).

A special wiki site (http://practicawikispaces.wikispaces.com) was created for this purpose. This site was active throughout the term, as a way to help students to solve their doubts on the use of the software.

During its first month of activity the “practical lesson site” was accessed in 2588 times. On the discussion section of this site the students posted interesting comments.

4. Results and discusion (3)

4.3 Creation of the “Atmospheric Pollution” wikis

The construction of the three wikis of “Atmospheric Pollution” is currently underway.

The work began on March 2011 and will be finished by June 10th, 2011 (end of the second term at the University of Granada).

However it is interesting to check the number of visitors and editions

during the period from March to April 24th, 2011.

4. Results and discusion (3)

According to the students’ comments and suggestions and to the observations made by the teachers, the main difficulties found in the elaboration of the wiki are listed below:

Uncertainty to decide the right contents for the wiki. Some students feel not confident enough to show their contributions

to their colleagues or to modify the contributions made by others. The students tend to web resources rather than printed publications

(books, papers). Only a few students correctly cite the references used for their work. The distribution of the task between the members of the groups seems

also to have caused some conflicts between the students.

5. Final considerations

Regarding the work carried out until now, the most positive point is the enthusiasm of the students and their commitment with the project.

As the most negative points we should mention the low participation observed in the discussion section since the beginning, and the fact that the participation of the students is decreasing with time in the three wikis. However the participation is rising again at the beginning of May (third month).

5. Final considerations (2)

For the teachers involved in the project the implementation of the wiki is revealing as a very enriching experience, as it has enable the detection of some shortcomings in the students, as well as the way to correct them.

Tthe great interest and commitment demonstrated by some students encourages us in our teaching task.

Due to the high number of students who follow the subject “Atmospheric Pollution” the implementation and monitoring of the wiki is posing a considerable effort for the teachers involved.

References

[1] Barés, G.M.; Requejo, M.D.P.; Garcés, C.V. (2010). Wikis e innovación docente. Revista de Docencia Universitaria. Monográfico IV: Wiki y educación superior en España (Parte I). Disponible en: http://revistas.um.es/index.php/red_u/issue/view/7781.

[2] Escobar López, E. WIKIS COMO HERRAMIENTA EN LA EDUCACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA. Página web: http://trabajo-colaborativo-2.wikispaces.com/, consultada en 14/abril/2008.

[3] Solano Férnandez, I.M. & Gutiérrez Porlán, I. (2007). Herramientas para la colaboración en la enseñanza superior: Wikis y Blogs. En Prendes Espinosa, M.P. Herramientas telemáticas para laenseñanza universitaria en el marco del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. Grupo de investigación de Tecnología Educativa. Universidad de Murcia. Cd-Rom. I.S.B.N: 978-84-611-7947-3.