WIKIS AND DISCUSSION BOARDS TO PROMOTE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION COURSES

This paper reports on an exploratory study that uses of Wikis and discussion boards to promote student engagement with lecture material on a bioscience course at the University of Sussex (UK). Both Wikis and discussion boards are known to promote constructivist and collaborative learning, which in turn increases student engagement. The aim of introducing these e-learning methods into the course was to increase student engagement throughout the term; and move students away from engaging with materials immediately prior to the exam.

For this study a Wiki project and discussion boards were used as the summative assessment for a Developmental Cell Biology course, which formed part of an MSc programme. The student experience was evaluated using three methods (a) student questionnaires, (b) interviews and (c) evaluation of file access and content of the wiki project pages.

The study showed that the discussion boards were popular with the students, and contributions to the forums built into a good quality resource. The Wiki project was less successful. There was limited evidence of collaborative learning within some student wiki groups, and evidence that the development of wiki pages was driven by summative assessment deadlines.

This paper shows the potential for discussion forums and, to some extent, Wikis to play an important role in increasing student engagement with lecture materials. The paper evaluates the student experience, and explores ideas for improving the use of Wikis by managing student motivation.