Collaborative learning with a wiki: Differences in perceived usefulness in two contexts of use

This paper investigates the potential of a wiki (FlexWiki) to support collaborative authoring of web resources in authentic coursework by two different sets of education students at different stages of their professional development. Research questions included: (1) how the selected wiki could be blended with curriculum activities and existing technologies to complete collaborative tasks; (2) student and tutor expectations concerning collaborative learning and whether these expectations were met; (3) the barriers and enablers of using the wiki and perceptions of the task-technology fit. Key findings included that tutors and students were able to use the wiki to complete tasks; tutors and students were positive about learning outcomes but collaboration was not as co-constructive as hoped for; there were tensions between expectations of collaboration and assessment practices that affected how students collaborated; differences between participants in their group interaction, degree of co-presence and familiarity with technology led to differences in perceptions of usefulness and actual wiki use; and version-tracking data from the wiki proved unreliable on its own for gaining insights into actual collaborative processes. These findings suggest the importance of considering detailed local contexts of use when deciding to adopt new tools for supporting collaboration.