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Wikis and blogs in T175 Networked Living

Wikis and blogs in T175 Networked Living. Karen Kear and John Woodthorpe together with T175 Associate Lecturers: Sue Hawthorne, Sarah Horrigan, Mike Hutchison, Peter Langford, Elizabeth Morrow, Sandy Robertson, Diane Saxon, Janet Seaton & Julie Wright. Overview.

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Wikis and blogs in T175 Networked Living

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  1. Wikis and blogs in T175 Networked Living Karen Kear and John Woodthorpe together with T175 Associate Lecturers: Sue Hawthorne, Sarah Horrigan, Mike Hutchison, Peter Langford, Elizabeth Morrow, Sandy Robertson, Diane Saxon, Janet Seaton & Julie Wright

  2. Overview • T175 Networked living: exploring information and communication technologies • Action research project in 2007 to pilot VLE tools • Funded by VLE team and Student Services • Nine ALs as researchers for their tutor groups • Evaluated wikis and blogs • Compared wiki with FirstClass for online tutorials • Compared blog with online learning journal • Used online questionnaire to students

  3. Research approach & activities • Tutors offered wiki as alternative to FirstClass for Block 3 online tutorial: • Peer review activity in pairs • Related to learning outcomes • Contributed to block assessment • Some tutors also offered wiki for Block 4 tutorial: • Students each evaluated one of three websites • Evaluations then used to compare the websites • Contributed to block assessment

  4. Online questionnaire • Online questionnaire created, containing: • Closed questions – student selects one or more options • Open questions – student types in their opinion • Questions on: • Use of VLE tools (wiki and blog) • Views on VLE tools • Available to the 9 student groups in the pilot - at end of course • 54 responses out of 111 (response rate = 0.49)

  5. Use of VLE wiki for online tutorials • Block 3 online tutorial • 52 students were offered the VLE (wiki) by their tutor • 44 students used it (85%) • Block 4 online tutorial • 41 students were offered the VLE (wiki) by their tutor • 23 students used it (56%) • All but one had also used it in Block 3 • Drop in use from Block 3 to Block 4 • Were students reluctant to continue with the wiki?

  6. Views on using VLE for tutorials • Students asked their views on using the VLE • Question with multiple answer statements • Asked for both Block 3 and Block 4

  7. Usability of wiki vs. FirstClass

  8. Students’ opinions on the wiki • Good idea: • “It was good fun to edit other people’s work and contribute to a group produced document.” • Usability problems: • “… it’s not an easy system to use” • Social discomfort: • “I felt it was too open allowing anyone to modify it without my knowledge” • Collaborative working: • “… easy to collaborate jointly on documents which has always been a bit of a logistical nightmare.”

  9. Further requirements for wiki • Students wanted to know … • … when a new contribution had been added • “No immediate way of knowing if new messages are present, without opening the Wiki up and searching all the headings” • … who had viewed contributions • “No history - can't see who is present, who has read the messages”

  10. Usability of blog vs. FirstClass

  11. Students’ opinions on the blog • Students were interested: • “It was the first time I had used a blog and I found it a pleasant and easy experience that I would happily use again.” • But blogs not seen as suitable for learning journals: • “I think "blogging" is better suited for keeping in touch with mates or subjects / people that you are interested in. I believe that students should be aware of such technologies, but not sure how relevant they are for journals. • Students were concerned about privacy: • “My personal Journal was done in Word on my computer and therefore exactly that – personal.”

  12. Tutors’ views: the wiki • Good for: • Group or pairs of students to develop a document together • Tutors updating a document over time • Keeping things all in one place & seeing progress • Cons: • Slow, cumbersome, time-consuming • Needs better functionality, usability & documentation • Cultural and practical issues of students editing each others’ work – especially for assessment tasks • Issue of version control – who did what, when • Need discussion facility in wiki - who did what & why?

  13. Tutors’ views: the blog • Can’t see what it could be used for in its present form • No comment facility – so can’t build community • Too open – to everyone in the OU world • Would like a blog just for the tutor group

  14. Tutors’ views: generic issues • Danger of overloading students and tutors • Too many places to look / login • Too many things to learn / do • Need activities and tools which suit each other • Can’t just re-use activities designed for forums • Need to design new activities and write new instructions • Students need a safe, private online spaces • Need to control who can see what • Need activities to try out the tools before a TMA • Tools need to be reliable and integrated • Otherwise undermine students’ confidence

  15. Conclusions • Students enjoyed the experience of using the VLE - but many preferred FirstClass • Students and tutors were concerned about: • Usability and functionality • Access and privacy • Issues of editing others’ work • For the future: • New activities should be designed to use the new tools • The VLE has moved on, so further evaluation is needed

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