Post on 30-Dec-2015
The Open University of Israel
Collaborative Learning in a Wiki Environment
Collaborative Learning in a Wiki Environment
Edna TalHagit Tal
The OpenThe Open UniversityUniversity ofof IsraelIsrael The Center for TechnologyThe Center for Technology in Distance Education in Distance Education
Wikimania 2006 August, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USAWikimania 2006 August, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
The Open University of Israel
The largest university in Israel Distance Learning institution 40,000 students, Aged 13 to 85 600 courses, B.A , M.A, M.Sc Open admission A pioneer and a leader in the implementation of
advance technologies to support learning
The Open University of Israel
The Open University of Israel
Why Wiki? Why MediaWiki?
Trendy tool Creates one collaborative learning product Provides powerful assessment tools for the
teacher and the researcher:History, Recent changes, User contributions, compare selected versions
Enables co-editing and “discussion” for each page
MediaWiki: fully Hebrew enabled and most students are already familiar with the Wikipedia
An open source code
The Open University of Israel
Uses of Wiki in Teaching and Learning at the Open University
The project started in September 2005
2006: 17 courses, 1000 students, 15 Instructors 2007 :30 courses
Participating Faculties: Humanities, Natural Sciences, Education, Social Sciences, Management and Economics and more
The Open University of Israel
Background for the Research “Technology and Learning”
A basic course for MA in Education
The Wiki-Assignment : To build a glossary of the course key terms
Assignment Features: • Duration: The entre semester• Compulsory assignment, 10 points of the final grade.
Evaluation Criteria:• Extent of participation• Degree of collaboration • Number of initiations• Quality of the work• Keeping to deadlines
The Open University of Israel
The Purpose of the Research
• To examine the quality of the collaborative assignment and its impact on learning
• To assess the Wiki platform as a collaborative learning environment
The Open University of Israel
Method
• A questionnaire to the students
• A quantitative analysis of the “digital traces” left on the server:
• Wiki tools: History, Recent changes, User contributions
• Tool developed by the Open University:Integration of the above into one statistical tool
The Open University of Israel
Number of participants: 32 Number of glossary terms: 164
Average contribution per student: 10 Active entries 33 Editings
Moderator’s contributions:
81 Active entries 318 Editings (82 feedbacks in “discussion”)
The Study
The Open University of Israel
Impact of the Wiki Assignment on Learning: Students’ Perception
75%71%
58%
67%
75%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
contributed tounderstanding
materials
awakenedinterest in the
course
helped me toassess myknowledge
helped me in thepreparation ofassignments
helped me toprepare for the
exam
Not at all or slightly Moderately to a great extent
The Open University of Israel
Did Collaborative Learning Occur?
42%58%
no collaboration(participant = 1)
collaboration(participants > 1)
The Open University of Israel
What Influenced Collaboration?
Instructor’s intervention
100%100%Total
77%39% Collaboration Participants > 1
23%61%No collaboration Participant = 1
No intervention
In 50% of the terms the instructor gave feedback
91% of students reported that the involvement of the
instructor in the assignment encouraged active
participation in the assignment
The Open University of Israel
13%9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Editing of term by otherstudents contributed to
its improvement
I liked the fact thatother students edited
terms which I haddefined
Not at all or slightly Moderately To a great extent
Attitude Towards Co-editing
How did you feel about exposing your work to the class?
“I had no problems with this exposure” “It was a struggle but also exciting”
The Open University of Israel
Would You Prefer to Receive a Ready Made Glossary Written by the Course Team?
33%
42%
25%
Not at all or slightly Moderately to a great extent
The Open University of Israel
To What Extent was this Wiki Assignment Enjoyable?
33%
13%
54%
Not at all or slightly Moderately to a great extent