Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs An investigation into the role of a wiki in supporting collaborative learning activities Thesis How to cite: King, David John (2010). An investigation into the role of a wiki in supporting collaborative learning activities. PhD thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2010 David King Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21954/ou.ro.00008d18 Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk An investigation into the role of a wiki in supporting collaborative learning activities A dissertation submitted in partial completion of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science David John King MSc (Dis) Computing BA (Hons) International History and Politics Department of Computing The Open University, UK Submitted – July 2010 - ii - Abstract Providing students with learning opportunities based on real-life situations has been found to enhance student learning. With this aim, two Open University post-graduate courses introduced collaborative activities modelled on workplace situations. The activities employed wikis: a lightweight, web-based collaborative authoring environment. The purpose of this research has been to investigate the role of a wiki in supporting the collaborative learning activities, and to assess how the wiki influenced student engagement with the activities. The dissertation draws data from the three presentations of Open University courses’ 56 wikis produced by almost 240 students. The base data includes wiki content and student discussions. Issues identified in the base data were further explored through post-course questionnaires and interviews. An iterative inductive qualitative analysis was applied to analyse students' perceptions and experiences with the wikis. Activity theory was used to place these within the context of the activities. The wikis enabled all student groups to author collaboratively the documents required by their courses. Writing the documents benefited the students because it prompted discussion and personal reflection; both of which many students reported as enhancing their learning. The students particularly valued the wiki’s role as a central repository that helped them achieve these two benefits. The research shows that wikis can support collaborative activities among students and lead to enhanced learning opportunities. The key findings suggest that a wiki’s simplicity enabled students to engage easily with the collaborative learning activities. However, a wiki’s lack of inherent structure hindered their progress until they had worked out how to organise their use of the wiki. - iii - The insights from the research are presented as guidelines for educators intending to incorporate wiki supported collaborative learning activities into their courses. The guidelines have two aims: first, to help educators facilitate speedy induction and participation of the students in the collaborative activities; second, to ensure the wiki is used effectively by students to increase their collaborative learning opportunities. - iv - Acknowledgements I would like to thank all the people who have contributed, directly or indirectly, to the completion of this research. Foremost of course are my supervisors: Shailey Minocha, Pete Thomas and Josie Taylor, who have provided invaluable direction and guidance through these last few years. Thank you to The Open University course teams who allowed me to use their courses as part of my research: Pete Thomas, Shailey Minocha, Arosha Bandara, Geoff Peters and Jill Mordaunt. A special mention also to Pam Brightman, course manager on the Computing course, for being ever helpful and providing some interesting insights into student behaviour. Thank you too to the Post-Graduate Research Forum co-ordinators, Marian Petre and Trevor Collins, and to the students with whom I shared so much learning. Thanks also to Stephen Potter and the U500 course team, who not only provided an excellent introduction to the PhD skill set, but many an opportunity to visit the Cellar Bar. Special thanks my fellow students, Geke van Dijk, Angela Lozano-Rodriguez, Ann Abraham and John Brier. Thank you to all in the Human-Computing Interaction group at the Open University. Especially to Simon Holland and Paul Marshall, for their interest in my work and fascinating discussions. Thank you to Paul Piwek, third party monitor, for a friendly ear and much sound advice. - v - Finally, and most importantly, I thank my family, and especially my wife Judith, for the support and patience shown with me while I have worked to achieve one of my life’s ambitions. - vi - Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. 7 List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. 10 List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 12 1.1 Topic of the research ........................................................................................................... 12 1.2 Background to the research ................................................................................................. 17 1.3 Overview of the thesis ......................................................................................................... 21 1.4 Chapter summaries .............................................................................................................. 23 Chapter 2 Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 24 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 24 2.2 Wikis and their characteristics ............................................................................................. 25 2.3 Literature on the usability of wikis in education ................................................................. 27 2.4 Literature on wiki-enabled activities in education .............................................................. 33 2.5 Literature on the challenges of using a wiki ........................................................................ 41 2.6 Chapter summary................................................................................................................. 53 Chapter 3 Choosing a methodology and identifying sources of data ............................................ 55 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 55 3.2 Epistemological background ................................................................................................ 56 3.3 Data gathering methods ...................................................................................................... 65 3.4 The data analysis process .................................................................................................... 79 3.5 Ethical approvals for conducting research ........................................................................... 83 3.6 Quality, validity and reliability ............................................................................................. 84 3.7 Chapter summary................................................................................................................. 87 Chapter 4 Course collaborative activities and course team intentions ......................................... 89 4.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 89 - vii - 4.2 The Computing course ......................................................................................................... 94 4.3 The Business course ........................................................................................................... 101 4.4 Comparison of course collaborative activities ................................................................... 109 4.5 Chapter summary............................................................................................................... 113 Chapter 5 Collaborative group working using a wiki ................................................................... 115 5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 115 5.2 Student and tutor comments on the use of a wiki to support group working .................. 116 5.3 Overview of Computing student attitudes ........................................................................ 149 5.4 Summary of emergent concepts ........................................................................................ 152 5.5 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................