Effective strategies for building a learning community online using a Wiki

This paper aims to share practitioner experiences of using Wiki technology to develop and build an online community to support ninety-six second year undergraduate students undertaking assignments on a computing programme in higher education over a one-year period. A Wiki is an online collaborative authoring tool providing learners with an opportunity to create their own learning environment whilst providing a greater range of opportunities for students to interact with each other outside the classroom boundary. Interaction between learners is a vital ingredient in social learning where the emphasis is on collaboration, negotiation, debate and peer review, and is central to the constructivist learning approach. Therefore, setting up an online community takes time and effort, requiring a level of technological competence, an understanding of learning theory and learner needs. This raises a number of pedagogic challenges and opportunities for academics. Through a practical example of implementing a Wiki, this paper provides guidance for academics rising to these challenges and opportunities. Student motivation, engagement and fostering ownership for a studentdirected learning community is a critical success factor to consider in the design of the environment. In this example, this is evident from the 35,599 hits to Wiki over a four week period and 66,122 hits to the Wiki for the duration of the module. The approach and methodology adopted use both qualitative and quantitative data and consider a practitioner’s first-hand experiences, observations and interpretations of student engagement in Wiki-enabled student-student community learning. Key issues to consider when designing this type of learning experience are the role of the tutor; in this example front-loaded then stepping-back, the type of ‘blend’, such as the mix of online and face-to-face, assessment mechanisms and the opportunity to enable students to develop in other key areas, for example transferable skills and employability. All of these areas staff development, skills, personalised student learning, ‘embedding’ and exploiting the pedagogic potential of new technologies are core aims for institutions (DfES 2005). ANNUAL BLENDED LEARNING CONFERENCE 2006