Changa, Y.K., (2010-2011) Collaborative learning in wikis. Education for Information 28, 291–303.
The article Collaborative Learning in Wikis looks at how students use wikis in a collaborative manner and how effective they are when used properly with group classroom assignments. The use of wikis in classroom assignments are nearly endless and many students prefer to do group work using a wiki because they can be edited and worked on by multiple people and all parties involved can collaborate and work together. This research looked at group dynamics and how there are five factors which will likely affect the outcome of a group project using something like a wiki. These five factors include: interpersonal and small group skills, positive interdependence, individual and group accountability, promotive interaction, and group processing. These five factors are useful in determining success in any group project, but especially when dealing with online projects because often times the students may not know each other in online classes and therefore need to have these five things met. This study found that of the students they surveyed in their polls, most of them responded that they had a positive experience using a wiki for their class project. Most students also reported that the use of a wiki was easy and was user friendly which would allow them to easily get their work done to complete the projects.
