Wikis as Individual Student Learning Tools: The Limitations of Technology

This paper presents research into the attitudes and behaviours of students using wikis for individual writing tasks. The wiki-based assignment differs from the use of wikis normally researched because it was an individual task, not involving collaborative writing. This activity provides an excellent...

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Main Authors: Allen, Matthew, tay, E
Format: Journal Article
Published: IGI Global 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22016
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author Allen, Matthew
tay, E
author_facet Allen, Matthew
tay, E
author_sort Allen, Matthew
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This paper presents research into the attitudes and behaviours of students using wikis for individual writing tasks. The wiki-based assignment differs from the use of wikis normally researched because it was an individual task, not involving collaborative writing. This activity provides an excellent opportunity to learn more about how wikis are actually used by students in higher education. The research finds there is no compelling evidence that the wiki on its own improves performance over and above the general aptitude of students. It also finds that students generally did not utilise the wikis for high-intensity editing and revision. However, students did report that the wiki was valuable as a way of aiding them to review and develop their ideas. We conclude that using wikis for individual writing tasks can, where appropriate active instructions are given to support development of cognitive abilities, lead to improved outcomes for students.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-220162017-09-13T15:59:26Z Wikis as Individual Student Learning Tools: The Limitations of Technology Allen, Matthew tay, E elearning wikis online learning higher education internet This paper presents research into the attitudes and behaviours of students using wikis for individual writing tasks. The wiki-based assignment differs from the use of wikis normally researched because it was an individual task, not involving collaborative writing. This activity provides an excellent opportunity to learn more about how wikis are actually used by students in higher education. The research finds there is no compelling evidence that the wiki on its own improves performance over and above the general aptitude of students. It also finds that students generally did not utilise the wikis for high-intensity editing and revision. However, students did report that the wiki was valuable as a way of aiding them to review and develop their ideas. We conclude that using wikis for individual writing tasks can, where appropriate active instructions are given to support development of cognitive abilities, lead to improved outcomes for students. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22016 10.4018/jicte.2012040105 IGI Global restricted
spellingShingle elearning
wikis
online learning
higher education
internet
Allen, Matthew
tay, E
Wikis as Individual Student Learning Tools: The Limitations of Technology
title Wikis as Individual Student Learning Tools: The Limitations of Technology
title_full Wikis as Individual Student Learning Tools: The Limitations of Technology
title_fullStr Wikis as Individual Student Learning Tools: The Limitations of Technology
title_full_unstemmed Wikis as Individual Student Learning Tools: The Limitations of Technology
title_short Wikis as Individual Student Learning Tools: The Limitations of Technology
title_sort wikis as individual student learning tools: the limitations of technology
topic elearning
wikis
online learning
higher education
internet
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/22016