Download - Teaching and Learning Conference 6/7/10
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Teaching and Learning Conference6/7/10
Using Wikis in University Teaching
Ken Clark
Economics
School of Social Sciences
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Aims
• Briefly discuss the use of wikis in the higher education environment
• Describe and illustrate my experience of using a wiki to co-ordinate groupwork on a third year optional module in Economics
• Outline some advantages and some issues
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Motivation
• Inspired by Tapscott and Williams’ Wikinomics– “How mass
collaboration changes everything”
– Harnessing power of the internet to improve knowledge through collaboration
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Wikis
• Online repositories of information and platforms for collaborative knowledge creation– Open source– Collaborative
• E.g. Wikipedia• Example of Web 2.0 technology• Likely to become ubiquitous (Tapscott and
Williams)?
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Wikis at University
• Knowledge construction in the classroom is, or at least ought to be, open source and collaborative
• Offer a platform for the creation and assessment of individual and group work
• Impart Web 2.0 skills which seem likely to be increasingly valuable in the workplace
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Wikis at University
“Universities are losing their grip on higher learning as the Internet is, inexorably, becoming the dominant infrastructure for knowledge—both as a container and as a global platform for knowledge exchange between people—and as a new generation of students requires a very different model of higher education.”
(Tapscott and Williams,2010, Innovating the 21st Century University, Educause 45:1)
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My project
• In collaboration with Peter Whitton, formerly of CEEBL
• Labour Economics: third year optional module for economics students
• 117 students this year (used to be 40!)
• Assessment: formerly 1/3 by essay, 2/3 by exam
• Wiki-based assessment replaced essay
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Wiki-Based Assessment
• Counts for 1/3 mark
• Students divided into groups – planned: 20*6, realised: 17*(5-8)
• Each group assigned a topic/task– like an essay/tutorial question– some more structured than others– based on reading the literature– broadening and deepening lecture material
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Wiki-Based Assessment• 5 weeks to complete a wiki “section” on their
topic• After roughly 2 weeks get feedback from
me/other students on what they’ve done so far– give presentation in tutorial class
• After another 2 weeks or so submit their wiki for assessment
• Once all finished, open all wikis up as online textbook for all students
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Assessment/Marking• Group mark assigned by me on basis of
content and presentation of the wiki• Individual marks assigned by group on
basis of evidence of individual inputs to wiki
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Look at examples
• Links
• Photos/diagrams
• Widgets
• Content?
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Evaluation• Generally well received by students
–Around 80% agreement with the statements: • “Did you enjoy doing the wiki-based
assessment?”,
• “Do you think the skills learned will be useful?”
–“Very good method of assessment and will be useful revision aid”
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Evaluation
– “Probably the most enjoyable course I've done this year. Really enjoyed the groupwork!”
– “It was refreshing to do an alternative form of assessment”
– “The wiki …required us to think outside the box and when working with other people allowed us to understand that there are a lot of different viewpoints and thoughts on just one topic from one small group of people.”
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0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
08_09 09_10
Agree
Mostly Agree
Neither
MostlyDisagree
Disagree
University Questionnaires:
The feedback I received on my work was helpful (%)
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Evaluation
• Very much enjoyed by instructor!– Boosted my enthusiasm for teaching (this
course)– New skills, but also learned about content– Reduced marking burden– Transformed my attitude to teaching
• Much more open to innovation, Web 2.0, etc.
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Issues
• How much “wikiness”?– Use of other software, face-to-face meetings, lack
of peer review
• “Why should I learn this, I’m doing an economics degree?”
• Free-riding (group work)• Intensive for course tutor• Did their knowledge improve?
– Content not always better than essays– Exam marks better?
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0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
08_09 09_10
Agree
Mostly Agree
Neither
MostlyDisagree
Disagree
University Questionnaires:
The skills I learned will be valuable (%)
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Conclusion
Wikis represent an effective method of
• co-ordinating assessed groupwork
• providing opportunities for feedback
• exposing students (and instructors!) to valuable new skills