1. Great idea! What do I do with one?
Using Wikis
Great idea! What do I do with one?
Wayne Britcliffe
(& Wendy Fountain)

2. Training approach
Workshop delivered focussed on the collaborative toolset and also used to de-emphasise the standard group tools in favour of manually defined spaces with tools deployed within them.
Note that the workshop name has changed its name to “Groupwork and Collaborative Tools”.

3. Collaborative group work
Our tutors’ aims:
Collaborative writing of case study reports
Collaborative glossaries
Shared reflective journals with commentary
Co-authored cohort ”textbooks” & knowledge bases
Feedback to groups in large cohorts

4. Only students in that group can edit the wiki.
Interaction matrix
Wiki (Teams) interaction options
Note that an instructor always has view, edit and commenting privileges to all wikis (when on).
No Groups
Private Groups
Open Groups
Single wiki per group.
Only students in that group can edit the wiki.
All students can view the wiki.
Commenting can be on/off.
Instructor
Single wiki for the whole module that only an instructor can edit.
Students can view the wiki but not make changes.
Commenting can be on/off.
Each group has a wiki that only an instructor can edit.
Commenting can be on/off.
Other groups can’t view the wiki.
Each group has a wiki that only an instructor can edit.
All students can view the wiki.
Commenting can be on/off.
Groups
Single wiki for the whole module.
Students can edit the wiki.
Commenting can be on/off.
Single wiki per group.
Only students in that group can edit and view the wiki.
Commenting can be on/off.
Single wiki per group.
Only students in that group can edit the wiki.
All students can view the wiki.
Commenting can be on/off.
Students
Each student has their own wiki that only they can edit.
Students can only view their own wiki.
Commenting can be on/off (for instructor and student to use).
Each student has their own wiki that only the student can edit.
Students in the same group can view each other’s wiki.
Commenting can be on/off.
Each student has their own wiki that only they can edit.
All students can view the wiki.
Commenting can be on/off.
Adapted from Andrew Fisher, Barking College, 2006

5. KVE Module
Core knowledge, values and engagement skills (KVE) module example.
The tutor used group wikis for a series of collaboratively developed topics each of which could feature in the final exam. This meant that, even if a student wasn’t a contributor to a topic, it was in their interest to view (and comment on) all the other wikis.
The screen dumps on this slide are explained (and build up) as follows:
Build 1 – The KVE module home page.
We click the “Wikis” option from the left menu to enter the wikis area.
Build 2 – The “Wikis” content area.
All the wikis are transparently visible to everyone on the course.
Build 3 – The “Creativity in Mental Health” wiki home page.
Here you can see what the group have authored on the home page of their wiki.
Build 4 – The page history screen for the home page of “Creativity in Mental Health”.
On this screen dump you can see that the glossary home-page is up to its 14th revision (for a group comprising of 4 people).
Build 5 – Control Panel screen
We click the “Assess/Export Teams Site” option for an overview of participation levels.
Build 6 – A list of wikis to view participation details for.
We click the “Creativity in Mental Health” link to see its participation levels.
Build 7 – The participation table.
Table showing the four students collaborating on the wiki and how they are contributing to the development.

6. Evaluation Case Study Overview Background Description of approach
Learning activities & tools
Student profile
Experience with computers
Experience with computers for learning
Expectations towards the VLE
Outcomes of the pilot
Activity statistics
Focus group feedback
Exit survey feedback
Instructor and tutors’ feedback
Student skills required & developed
Staff skills required & developed
Actions for further development
Three example case study pages along with the basic case study framework.

7. Data collection methods
Entry survey
(Informal progress checks)
Staff interview
360 degree evaluation and data collection model.
Exit survey
Activity logs
Focus group interviews

8. Set-up does not equal engagement
Basic observations
Set-up does not equal engagement
The module “leader” must be comfortable and clear on how to use the tool
The relationship between the purpose of a wiki, the overall purpose of the module and the incentive to contribute needs to be clearly communicated to the students
Be aware that the student perception of the VLE is that it is formal and not for draft quality work
Set-up does not equal engagement
Knowing precisely how the tool works and deploying it is not enough; just as providing a Discussion Board is not enough to generate a “community”.
The module “leader” must be comfortable and clear on how to use the tool
If the person leading the course lacks comfort with the tools then the expected student use is going to impacted and likely not to be trusted.
The relationship between the purpose of a wiki, the overall purpose of the module and the incentive to contribute needs to be clearly communicated to the students
Lack of communication as to the simple “Why” is a killer. If the students don’t understand what they are learning by engaging (at all levels) then you will struggle to engage them.
Examples KVE versus Evolutionary Ecology versus Making History
Be aware that the student perception of the VLE is that it is formal and not for draft quality work
This has come out repeatedly in focus groups and feedback; because a wiki is transparent to everyone the general feeling is that any material put up for general consumption is near to completion.

9. Student motivation/incentive is key
Lessons learned
Student motivation/incentive is key
Ongoing feedback to students is crucial
Student induction is essential
“Just in time” instructions are useful
Extending “netiquette” rules is useful
The learning design needs to take into account and support all of the above
Ongoing evaluation needed
Student motivation/incentive is key
If the work on the wiki ISN’T assessed then it is crucial there is still clear motivation/incentive to engage. Wikis are a great way of allowing a student to build on their existing knowledge base and widen the scope of their learning. If it is clear that there is a pay-off to the work then they are much more likely to engage fully (indirect assessment needs to be clearly communicated).
Ongoing feedback to students is crucial
Ongoing feedback is not only a real motivator but also reinforces the perceived virtual presence of the instructor. It is also vital to rectify mistakes and misconceptions precisely because the wiki IS so transparent to all contributors/readers.
Student induction is essential
Do not make the mistake of thinking, because you find the tool pretty intuitive, that students will find the tool intuitive. This isn’t the case and we’ve found that proper induction is crucial and better targeted at how the tool is going to be used in anger during the module.
“Just in time” instructions are useful
Placed in context of the tools themselves these have proved very useful to lessen support load and enable students when they need enabling.
Extending “netiquette” rules is useful
This has come again repeatedly in feedback from students. Any collaborative endeavour is fraught. Individuals don’t pull their weight, are too precious or simply insensitive in how they deal with their group members. Having a guide to expected behaviour can be enabling. For example: Contribute before editing other peoples work (etc). Extending the guide to cover “Commenting” would also be useful.
The learning design needs to take into account and support all of the above
The way the module is structured and blends with face to face sessions needs to support the online group work closely to get the most from it. Structuring the module in such a way that a student requires to click seven times to go and “peer review” comment on another groups development will discourage such review taking place for example. Not tying in or referring to wiki research or group work in face to face sessions will lessen the perceived value in the additional activity. Wiki activity needs to be integrated with the other learning activities.
Ongoing evaluation needed
Listen to the present cohort and modify accordingly as the module rolls forward. Do you need to make group members more accountable and self regulating. Will making progress reports mandatory and requiring deadlines to be met for certain types of work enable better control of the collaborative process? How this can be done depends entirely on the expected learning outcomes for the module – a task rather than research focussed activity will have very different drivers etc. There is always variation from cohort to cohort and even from group to group.

10. Benefits and challenges
Enormous flexibility for collaboration
Deploy in context of learning materials
Transparency : participation & versions
Support both group process & product
Support peer review & feedback
Set-up complexity
Instructor learning curve
Student motivation & participation
Appropriate student induction is critical
Too easy to deploy? i.e. students overloaded
Discussion/Questions

11. Set-up and configuration
Evolutionary Ecology
Interactive slide.
Click one of the numbered boxes to see how its corresponding wiki/blog usage was set-up. Note that the slides linked are hidden slides.
Making History
New Media & Society
KVE Module

12. Some tips & tricks Key set-up options Making it easier for tutors
Interactive slide.
Click one of the boxes to see specifics on setup and configuration.
Discussion forum release
Simple viewing lock-out

13. End of presentation

14. New Media & Society Set-up
Mediapedia set-up
Course Teams Site
Providing wiki instructions
Blog set-up
Course Journal

15. New Media & Society : Wiki Set-up

16. New Media & Society : Wiki Instructions

17. New Media & Society : Blog Setup

18. KVE Wiki Set-up

19. Making History Groups Space Set-up

20. Evolutionary Ecology Wiki Set-up

21. Tip : The key set-up options

22. Tip : Making it easier for tutors

23. Tip : Discussion forum release

24. Trick : Simple viewing lock-out