ERIC Number: EJ1042723
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0958-8221
EISSN: N/A
Wikis as Discussion Forums: Exploring Students' Contribution and Their Attention to Form
Nami, Fatemeh; Marandi, S. Susan
Computer Assisted Language Learning, v27 n6 p483-508 2014
The potential of wikis for learning has recently begun to capture the attention of English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) research. While students' collaboration, attention to form, and perceptions of wikis in document mode have been widely addressed in previous research, the educational value of wikis used in thread mode, as discussion forums, has been rarely explored. In an attempt to fill this gap in the literature, the present case study reports on 20 EFL learners' contribution to a classroom wiki during a 9-week writing course. The wiki is applied as a forum for out-of-classroom discussions regarding English writing. Focus is placed upon the type and degree of students' contribution to the wiki as well as their attention to form while publishing their messages on the space. A total of 50 wiki posts was analyzed adopting both quantitative and qualitative measures. The results indicated that students were most likely to use the wiki for posing their questions and disseminating solutions for peers. They also appeared highly attentive to the form of their posts in terms of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. This study makes a contribution to research on wiki-based learning.
Descriptors: Web Sites, Editing, Collaborative Writing, Web 2.0 Technologies, English (Second Language), Discussion Groups, Writing Instruction, Writing (Composition), Use Studies, Users (Information), Electronic Learning, Essays, Asynchronous Communication, Teacher Role, Peer Evaluation, Content Area Writing, Form Classes (Languages), Language Skills, Case Studies, Qualitative Research, Foreign Countries, Females, Content Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Iran
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of English as a Foreign Language
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A