Using Wikis to Enliven Group Projects

Who: Duquesne University What: Wikis

Objective: Enable collaboration in and out of class while allowing students to maintain a sense of ownership without creating excessive paper documentation.

Process: Campus Pack was used to support team-based research, planning, and implementation projects required in the undergraduate honors course, Community and University. Students use the wiki functionality to develop three course assignments: a community profile, a proposal, and a final report. The wiki allows students to read, edit, re-organize, re-write, re-format, and add content to their own—and each other’s—contributions.

Results: A large percentage of the students felt the Campus Pack wiki was an enhancement to the class work. Students highlighted the easy-to-use interface and simple navigation structure. In addition, they mentioned the ability to edit each other’s work and provide constructive criticism as very beneficial. The course instructor remarked on how Campus Pack enlivened the use of technology in the class, encouraging a genuine sense of community and collaboration in working across the boundaries of time and place.

Read the expanded Duquesne University case study (PDF).