Abstract:

New paradigms of teaching and learning are a reality in our current world. It is generally accepted that teaching methodologies are changing from the traditional face-to-face environment to a greater usage of the Web 2.0 technologies. Nowadays, many educators agree on the enormous power of online tools to enhance the learning process (i.e., Boulos et al., 2006;Chao & Parker, 2007; Brown & Adler, 2008). One of these tools is the “wiki.” A “wiki” is a web communication and collaboration tool that can be used to engage students in learning with others within a collaborative environment.

This paper aims at examining the current literature about the use and importance of wikis in the education context and at explaining the results of an ongoing research on wiki´s usage in a Second Language classroom during the current semester at a University in Portugal. Additionally, in an attempt to provide insights for the field, we will present a qualitative analysis of student´s perceptions which we got from a questionnaire given to our students after they used wikis in their Second Language class.

Keywords:

Wiki, collaborative learning, computer-mediated communication, pedagogy, New education paradigms, constructivism.