Peter Dangerfield: Wikis – a tool to assist learning? Slides from the University of Liverpool Learning and Teaching Conference 2009. This presentation describes how wikis, collaborative websites, were introduced to students in a problem-based learning context as part of a CETL-funded pilot. What we wanted to find out was whether the use of wikis could enhance students’ learning and their development of professionalism. The presentation will summarise this experience with some insights into students’ patterns of working and some of the questions that this pilot study has raised in terms of the use of this tool.

1. Wikis – a tool to assist learning? Peter Dangerfield Medical Education TündeVarga-Atkins (CLL) Nick Bunyan (CLL) Steve McKinnell David Brigden David Williams Martin Ralph Funded by the CETL for Developing Professionalism

3. Can Web2 technologies do this?2

5. General Medical Council 4

6. GMC Good Medical Practice 2006 Duties of a Doctor Eg: Make the care of your patient your first concernProtect and promote the health of patients and the publicProvide a good standard of practice and careKeep your professional knowledge and skills up to dateRecognise and work within the limits of your competenceWork with colleagues in the ways that best serve patients' interestsTreat patients as individuals and respect their dignityTreat patients politely and consideratelyRespect patients' right to confidentiality etc Duties of a doctor 5

8. What is a wiki?

9. Are wikis used in education?

10. Can wikis enhance learning?6

12. aims,

13. methods,

14. findings,

15. conclusions,

16. recommendations.7

17. Problem Based Learning (PBL) Learning context in the Medical UG curriculum Idea: Extend collaboration beyond face-to-face sessions using web tools? formal online face to face informal 8

18. Examples of PBL learning outcomes Depth of discussion Learning objectives 9

19. PBL resources and sharing What is the difference between privacy and confidentiality? PBL GROUP What is patient confidentiality? What is the role of the nurse specialist? Resources How to break bad news? 10

20. WHAT IS WEB2.0? Rich user experience Free and evolving The Long Tail Participation Play User-generated tags Collaborative Trust your users User-generated content Remixability Sharing Usability Social networking 11

21. What is a wiki? Collaborative Many purposes Web2.0 tool World-wide (public) vs task-oriented (closed) Easy-to-edit website Embedded images, text, hyperlinks, audio, video etc. History / rollback functions Read/write access 12

22. Wiki types: ganfyd (Get a note from your doctor) 13

23. Wiki types: AskDrWike http://askdrwiki.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Physician_Medical_Wiki 14

24. Wiki types: Closed: e.g. course wiki 15

25. methods Four PBL groups (n=32) Using Teams LX wiki tool in Blackboard Facilitator interviews Observation of online wiki use Small-scalesurvey Focus groups 16

26. What did the students do? How did the students did it? Engagement with the wiki 17

27. 18 Engagement

28. LEARNING PATTERNS Range of working patterns in-between PBL sessions (MSN/Facebook etc.) Mobile phone contact Email Informal chat over coffee etc Use of group Facebook Use of MSN/Live Limited use of Blackboard 19

29. ENGAGEMENT WITH WIKI What did students do in wiki: Varied uptake: posting / viewing / not everyone engaged What did they post? Mostly useful weblinks but some useful content found. Different groups engaged differently with wikis (good to limited!) 20

30. Developing your identity Learning about yourself Learning about Professionalism Sharing information 21 Perceived benefits

31. Benefits 22

32. 23 1. Wikis as a shared resource

33. Students were able to share resources on professionalism in their PBL groups Wiki contributions helped clarify PBL discussions. By being able to check one another’s contributions online, some students felt more confident in their learning 24 Sharing resources online

34. 2. Identity as professionals – i. Wikis made some students reflect on the way they contributed to group wikis (as opposed to how they interacted in their private social networking space egFacebook) 25

37. 2. Identity as professionals – IV. Students were aware / wanted to be seen as ‘professionals’ when posting to the wiki They were, in contrast, happy to post links and resources into private areas such as ‘Facebook’. This was taken as an indication that students were developing a professional approach to learning 28

39. lacking confidence in posting to online space

40. Natural reticence to share when not sure about quality of online resource

41. Professionalism:

42. issue afraid of ‘being seen to be wrong’;

43. Separation of informal/social space vsformal ‘work’ space.29

45. Students level of ICT competence

46. Motivation to use ICT as an enhancement to learning

47. Cultural issues related to sharing.30

49. Group negotiations outside PBL?31

50. Findings: issues Managerial Technological Usability vsFacebook(interface, no alerts) Wiki linked to bi-weekly module (does not lend to cumulative gathering) Who has access to Wiki? 32

52. The purpose and structure of wiki need to be explained.33

54. A wiki environment which encourages students’ to post needs to be created with appropriate levels of sharing & privacy.

55. Other student attitudes such as (positive) competitiveness may also be harnessed. “Did other group get more than us?”34

56. CONCLUSION 3 3. Role of Institution The functions of the institutionally available wiki tool may be restrictive (e.g. lack of alerts). If these functions are deemed important, other external tools may need to be considered. 35

57. Explain purpose of process On-line tool must use Web 2 type of alerts etc Preloading and seeding some resource Environment must bring with it the concept of Trust 36 Recommendations

58. What is the purpose of a WIKI? Does it really enhance learning? Questions for debate? 37

59. Available at: http://www.liv.ac.uk/eddev/Research_and_Evaluation/Pedagogic_research/Projects_Completed.htm 38 Full and summary report

60. ? ? ? Questions? ? ? Peter Dangerfieldspine92@liverpool.ac.uk TündeVarga-Atkins tva@liv.ac.uk Contact: