Using wikis to enhance group projects

1. Using wikis to enhance group projects Kevin M. Williams Assistant Professor, Chemistry April 11, 2008 kevin.williams@wku.edu

2. Challenges of group projects • Assessment of individual contributions is very difficult • All students often receive same grade even if participation level varies • Some students may “take over” • Some students may not contribute much • Students may feel lack of ownership of final project • Student efforts may overlap since students may not see one another’s work in progress • Final product often a collection of individual pieces instead of a coherent, integrated project • Difficult to monitor progress during the construction of the project

3. Overview of biochemistry project • Group project was used as honors-embedded component in biochemistry course • Students chose to study Alzheimer's disease for honors project • Expected to learn about the disease from several perspectives, including: • Biochemistry (what molecules, reactions, interactions are involved) • Clinical (diagnosis, prognosis) • Causes (genetic, lifestyle, other factors) • Impacts (on patient, family, society)

4. Biochemistry project, contd. • Students were expected to consider relationships between perspectives • How improved methods of detection could impact patients and families • Biochemical basis for studies suggesting education impacts risk of contracting disease • To make connections across disciplines, it was essential that students see what other students were finding while the project was ongoing

5. Wikis • Wikis are web sites that can be viewed and modified by multiple users (i.e. all group members in this case) • Wikipedia and Wiktionary are examples • Netcipia (http://www.netcipia.net) was chosen for the class wiki • Freely available service • Allows owner of site to set permissions for read/write/comment (can restrict permissions)

6. Our group wiki http://honorsbiochem.netcipia.net

7. Challenges • Some features may not be intuitive to less technologically inclined individuals • Learning curve may be steeper for some • Students somewhat hesitant to post preliminary data (since all versions retained) • No on-campus support for Netcipia if problems arise

8. Advantages • Hosted on a site accessible by internet • Can work on project at any time from any place with internet access • Reduces risk of data loss (hard drive crash, flash drive loss, etc.) • All members can view and modify • Current draft immediately available • No one student has to be responsible for assembly of the pieces • Easier to integrate pieces into coherent unit • Instructor can monitor progress of the project • Previous versions are retained • Allows for assessment of individual contributions • Students’ contributions are documented • No irreversible changes

9. Getting started • Must find web site that can host wiki • http://www.netcipia.net is one possibility • Set up your personal log-in, create a space (do both simultaneously in Netcipia) • Set up read/write privileges for space (“Place rights” in Netcipia) • Invite group members to join • Note: many sites (including Netcipia) have tutorials that may be useful for first-time users

10. Suggestions • Build a site and become familiar with how to post before the semester begins • Have groups meet in person on a regular basis during semester • Monitor site on a weekly basis to track status of project and ensure all are contributing • Have a deadline relatively early in the semester by which students must post something • Keep groups relatively small if individual assessment important (my project had 5 people)

11. Conclusions • Participants agreed that despite some minor technical challenges, use of a wiki improved construction and assessment of the project • Potential applications include: group class projects, lab reports, and logging student research activities

12. Acknowledgments • Department of Chemistry • Honors College • Honors biochemistry class members • Emily Turner • Mannie Webb • Derrek Brown • Michelle Fusting • Dustin Payne