Using a wiki to evaluate individual contribution to a collaborative learning project

Abstract

One critical issue arising in the educational use of collaborative learning concerns the teacher's difficulty in evaluating the contribution and participation of each student in group-work. This article aims to illustrate and discuss a methodology that enables evaluation of the collaborative learning process based on co-writing in a wiki environment. After considering the effectiveness of co-writing as a strategy of collaborative learning, the article will highlight issues regarding methods for evaluating each student's contribution to the collaborative process and to the group's overall action. A solution will be proposed to address the problem. It is based upon the elaboration of information traced automatically by wiki, employing survey grids and formulae developed ad hoc to calculate participation and contribution indexes. These tools will be illustrated together with their application in two university courses. Results demonstrate the added value given by the proposed approach to the evaluation process of co-writing. However, these findings also highlight critical issues and some possible remedies for the lack of specific wiki functions to automatically extract information required for quantitative analysis of the actions taken by members of the learning group.

Collaboratively Composing an Argumentative Essay: Wiki versus Face-to-face Interactions

“…This is in line with the study conducted by Chang (2010) who revealed that pair discussions and group work throughout the term encouraged interaction among students. Besides, collaborative writing on wiki showed that members were very engaged in the learning process (Trentin, 2009). The study also revealed that process writing had major impact on understanding the nature of writing and its instruction (Hyland, 2003).…”

“…One set of related research studies investigated the application of Web 2.0 technologies in collaborative learning, and how such technologies have enabled instructors provide students with learning environments that can enhance interaction among instructors and peers (Beldarrain, 2006;Trentin, 2009). The employment of Web 2.0 tool in language instruction has enhanced students' interaction (Pop, 2010).…”

“…Currently, a number of research studies have focused on the interaction on wiki (Beldarrain, 2006;Chang, 2010;Trentin, 2009) and face-to-face collaborative writing (Dale, 1994;Nixon, 2007;Storch, 2005) in various contexts. There is also a study that compares writing on a computer and using paper and pencil, focusing on the difference in the internal cognitive processes (Hoomanfard & Meshkat, 2015).…”

“…Wiki, a relatively new online software, is one of the open sources that can be an effective tool for collaboration in language learning. It is known for its effectiveness in promoting interaction that requires collaborative efforts and collective knowledge construction (Goodwin-Jones, 2003;Trentin, 2009). Wikis have simple text syntax, allowing users to easily amend pages or to create new pages or hyperlinks between pages (Leuf & Cunningham, 2001).…”

Fomento de la Participación del Alumnado con Herramientas Libres de Trabajo Colaborativo Web 2.0

“…Como trabajo futuro también podemos destacar que para el próximo curso la asignatura «Administración de Sistemas Operativos» (obligatoria de tercer curso de Ingeniería Técnica en Informática de Sistemas) incorporará desarrollo de documentación en wiki con rúbricas similar a (Trentin, 2009). Actualmente ya cuenta con un wiki, WikiUNIX .…”