Cooperative wikis used to promote constructivism and collaboration in a skills laboratory course.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

This study was designed to promote students' engagement with course material through use of a wiki and to assess students' perceptions of and experience with wikis.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

Students used a wiki to complete course assignments. A post-survey evaluated their experience and measured four constructs related to use of the wiki: perceived learning, communication and reflection, satisfaction, and frustration. Previous experience, demographic information, and comments regarding benefits and drawbacks were also recorded. Descriptive statistics and Cronbach's alpha were used to evaluate data. Thematic analysis was used to evaluate open-ended responses.

FINDINGS

Twenty out of 68 (29.4%) students participated in the study. Mean scores for attitude constructs were: perceived learning (mean = 4.0, SD = 1.3); communication and reflection (mean = 3.9, SD = 1.2); satisfaction (mean = 3.7, SD = 1.4); and frustration (mean = 4.2, SD = 1.6). Thematic analysis revealed students' feelings that the wiki was useful for collaborating, was helpful for keeping information organized, and created a valuable study tool. In contrast, students felt the wiki was not user friendly, and collaboration was limited.

SUMMARY

Students felt the wiki encouraged collaboration and was a useful way to organize and study course information. However, students reported low satisfaction with wiki assignments. Choosing a wiki that enhances course material is necessary to successfully support student learning.