Examples of the use of Wiki as an educational tool:

Wikis have
been used in many different educational institutions in a number of different
ways.  Tertiary institutions tend to show
more extensive use of the wiki, but secondary institutions are increasingly
using wikis as well.

In the case
of a tertiary blended course in telecommunications a wiki was used to provide
students with a digital virtual work space to collaborate in in addition to
their face to face conventional classroom interactions.  The wiki was selected as a tool in this case
due to its collaborative nature, the ability to disseminate course materials as
well as allowing students to create and edit materials.  It was hoped that additional benefits would
include leaving students with a summary of their semesters work and new skills.  While students were initially nervous, it
proved effective as a community building tool and allowed for effective
collaborative work while also cutting down on repeat questioning and allowed
for consolidation of resources.  More
adventurous, competent students scaffolded less competent students by
demonstrating the potential of the wiki and how to complete certain tasks and achieve
certain results.

Another case where wikis have been used is in an English course at a Romanian university.  This study took place over the course of two years and was part of a comprehensive attempt at analysing the ability of students to make authentic use of Web 2.0 tools, with a focus on Wikis as part of a collaborative learning environment.  The learning environment that was created was a hybrid wiki, that limited access and tools for participants to ensure teacher oversight and control, to attempt to avoid challenges such as wiki vandalism.  The result showed that students of all levels participated strongly in the use of the wiki and the construction of an individual page, with the tools provided by the wiki allowing clear tracking of participation, commitment, work effort, number of drafts and similar data to the teachers.  The conclusion was reached that Wikis functioned well as a Web 2.0 tool that allowed for scaffolding of lower-intermediate skilled students in a media rich environment that encouraged collaboration.  In particular they discovered that it was an engaging platform for participation and collaboration in a blended learning experience that allowing for peer and student teacher interaction.

Another case study, performed by Moskaliuk, Kimmerle and Cress examined whether wikis, vaunted for their collaborative and interactive potential, actually helped learners construct knowledge in an authentic way or whether there was incongruity between the information available and the knowledge gained on an individual level.  They found that, depending on the level of information provided to the participants in the study, they displayed low to medium levels of congruity which allowed for internal assimilation and individual learning as well as qualitative knowledge building.  This case study adds support for the use of wikis in an educational context as it shows evidence that demonstrates the value of Wikis for individual learning as well as group collaborative learning.

One particular hypothesised benefit of Wikis has been tested in a case study that aimed to test the ability of wikis to allow for individual assessment and participation within a group project.  The students were asked to think about the way in which they were participating as the change log allowed for individual changes, from minor edits, to the addition of whole paragraphs to be observed and assessed by the teaching staff.  They came to the conclusion that the insight it offered, allowing teachers the ability to quantify the contributions made by each individual was valuable as it gave them insight into the learning process of the students that they could not directly observe.  It also allowed for them to identify specific areas that students were strong or weak in.  However, due to the nature of these changes having to be assessed by a teacher's critical eye, it took a significant additional investment of time on the behalf of the teacher to a factor of two or three times as they analysed student contributions and also participated in discussion and made contributions.  Additionally, they noted that a small percentage of students refused to participate initially due to issues with the use of a wiki which required additional teacher time investment.  They noted the educational advantages provided by the use of the wiki, but also its limitations  that need to be considered in any educational implementation.

1. ↑ Grosseck, G.
(2009). To use or not to use web 2.0 in higher education? *Procedia Social*
and Behavioral Sciences*, 1(478–482).*
2. ↑ Alexander, B. (2006). Web 2.0 A New Wave of Inovation
for Teachign and Learning? *EDUCAUSE Review*, 33-44.
3. ↑ de Pedro Puente, X.
(2007). New Method Using Wikis and Forums to Evaluate Individual Contributions
in Cooperative Work while Promoting Experiential Learning: Results from
Preliminary Experience . *WikiSym’07* (pp. 87-92). Québec, Canada. : ACM.
4. ↑ Felea, C., &
Stanca, L. (2012). Wiki Tools in Teaching English for Specific (Academic)
Purposes – Improving Students’ Participation . *ICWL*, 241–250.
5. ↑ Moskaliuk, J., Kimmerle, J., & Cress, U. (2008).
Learning and Knowledge Building with Wikis: The Impact of Incongruity between
People’s Knowledge and a Wiki’s Information. *Proceedings of the 8th*
international conference on International conference for the learning
sciences-Volume 2 *(pp. 99-106). International Society of the Learning*
Sciences.
6. ↑ Jaksch, B., Kepp, J. S., & Womser-Hacker, C. (2008).
Integration of a Wiki for Collaborative Knowledge Development in an E-Learning
Context for University Teaching . *USAB*, 77–96.