Post for 10/26: Fifth Other Resource Reading and Thinking Blog: 22

Fifth Reading and Thinking Blog for Other Resources: 22

Wheeler, Steve, Peter Yeomans, and Dawn Wheeler. “The Good, the Bad and the Wiki: Evaluating Student-Generated Content for Collaborative Learning.” British Journal of Educational Technology 39.6 (2008): 987-995. Print.

Electronic Representation:
http://www.pgce.soton.ac.uk/ict/NewPGCE/PDFs/The%20good%20the%20bad%20and%20the%20wiki.pdf

Comments:
Wheeler et al. conducted a study on four groups of undergraduate education students. Students used a wiki throughout the duration of a research writing unit to store, edit, and discuss work. Following the course, students provided feedback on wiki use directly in the program as well as in a questionnaire. The authors noted that the presence of an unseen audience as well as the lack of a spell check function caused students to construct texts with greater care and precision, thus improving the quality of composition. In addition, the collaborative aspect of the wiki allowed for increased discussion and peer feedback, allowing students to gain skills in critical analysis and in turn, improve their own writing by observing others. The authors support the benefits of wiki use in the classroom, however they warn that proper instruction discussing the nature of editing, contributions, and text ownership inherent in wikis must be conducted to allow students to fully participate and maximize beneficial learning.