From forums to wikis: Perspectives on tools for collaboration
ARTICLE
Karen Kear, John Woodthorpe, Sandy Robertson, Mike Hutchison
Internet and Higher Education Volume 13, Number 4, ISSN 1096-7516 Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
Web 2.0 communication tools have considerable promise for supporting collaborative learning. But there is a need for research examining learners' and teachers' experiences of the newer communication tools, such as wikis, in comparison with well-established tools, such as discussion forums. This paper reports on an initiative where distance learners used an in-house wiki for online tutorials which had previously taken place via forums. The perspectives of students and tutors on this experience were gathered via an online questionnaire to students and unstructured online feedback from tutors. Some students and tutors felt that the wiki was better than a forum for collaborating on shared documents. However, at that stage in the wiki's development it was found to be more difficult to use than a forum, and slower. Some tutors found the wiki to be too slow to use effectively. These findings highlight the importance of good usability in collaborative software. The research also revealed that some students were uncomfortable with the prospect of editing each others' work in the wiki. They had concerns related to ownership of contributions. This finding relates to the concept of ‘sociability’ in relation to online communication. The research therefore identifies both usability and sociability as key requirements for Web 2.0 communication tools.
Citation
Kear, K., Woodthorpe, J., Robertson, S. & Hutchison, M. (2010). From forums to wikis: Perspectives on tools for collaboration. Internet and Higher Education, 13(4), 218-225. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/108380/.
This record was imported from Internet and Higher Education on January 29, 2019. Internet and Higher Education is a publication of Elsevier.
Full text is availabe on Science Direct: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.05.004Keywords
- collaboration
- College Faculty
- College Instruction
- College Students
- Computer Assisted Instruction
- computer mediated communication
- Computer Software
- Computer System Design
- Cooperative learning
- Discussion Groups
- distance education
- editing
- educational technology
- Electronic Publishing
- Feedback (Response)
- forum
- Instructional Effectiveness
- internet
- Interpersonal Competence
- learning strategies
- ownership
- Questionnaire
- Questionnaires
- Social Influences
- student attitudes
- teacher attitudes
- teaching methods
- usability
- Use Studies
- web 2.0
- Web Sites
- wiki
Cited By
View References & Citations Map-
Using wikis for online group projects: Student and tutor perspectives
Karen Kear, Helen Donelan & Judith Williams, The Open University
The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning Vol. 15, No. 4 (Aug 15, 2014)
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An empirical study of lecturers’ appropriation of social technologies for higher education
Suraya Hamid, University of Malaya and The University of Melbourne; Jenny Waycott, Sherah Kurnia & Shanton Chang
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology Vol. 30, No. 3 (Aug 05, 2014)
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Evaluating types of students' interactions in a wiki-based collaborative learning project
Maria Prokofieva, Victoria University
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology Vol. 29, No. 4 (Sep 22, 2013)
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Web 2.0 Use in College Teaching: Undergraduate Students' Levels of Awareness
Min Liu & Anita Harvin, The University of Texas at Austin, United States
EdMedia + Innovate Learning 2012 (Jun 26, 2012) pp. 2279–2285
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