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In piazza online: Exploring the use of wikis with beginner foreign language learners

Taylor & Francis
Computer Assisted Language Learning
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Abstract

Wikis are increasingly seen as useful tools for promoting active student engagement and collaborative language learning. Unlike most applications of wikis to foreign/second language learning thus far reported on, ours concerns complete beginners. In this paper, we focus on our approach to and evaluation of the integration of wikis into our first-year Italian course with the aim of encouraging out-of-class practice and fostering students’ sense of class community, right from the start of their learning. The evaluation showed that, although the students created several attractive and interesting pages, they did not appreciate the wikis as much as we had hoped: there were technical hitches, many found collaboration dynamics challenging, and most developed little interest in participating in a cross-campus online group. Our data analysis found no relationship between the students’ perceptions of the wiki work and their gender, initial confidence or frequency of use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools. However, those who, on entering the course, placed greater importance on interaction with other students, and a sense of community in class, showed greater appreciation of the wiki experience. From these findings, we draw implications for improving our approach to integrating wiki work into our program.

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... Other studies have sought to understand the benefits of Web 2.0 technologies in second/foreign language teaching and learning (cf., e.g. Chen, 2013;Hung & Huang, 2015;Kennedy & Miceli, 2013;Kost, 2011;Lee, 2010a;Li & Zhu, 2013;Mills, 2011;Parmaxi & Zaphiris, 2014;Yang, Crook, & O'Malley, 2014). Yet, despite their popularity, it is still not clear to what extent they are used in language learning contexts and how effective they are as instructional tools. ...
... Lee and Wang (2013) explored the factors that facilitated peer collaboration in a collaborative wiki project that include students' evenly sharing of workload, appreciation of different opinions, continuous communication and participation amongst peers, and good wiki management skills. On the same line, Kennedy and Miceli (2013) explored the potential of integrating wikis into a beginner's language course. Results showed students' interest on the wiki pages and also that students who placed emphasis on group interaction appreciated more the wiki experience. ...
... Arnold et al. (2012) stressed the importance of learner training and teacher guidance for unlocking wikis' potential. Moreover, Kennedy and Miceli (2013) identified students' technical difficulties in the wiki and little interest in participating in an online group. ...
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This study explores the research development pertaining to the use of Web 2.0 technologies in the field of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Published research manuscripts related to the use of Web 2.0 tools in CALL have been explored, and the following research foci have been determined: (1) Web 2.0 tools that dominate second/foreign language classroom; (2) learning/Second Language Acquisition theories that guide their use; (3) skills that Web 2.0 technologies support; (4) reported advantages and challenges in harnessing Web 2.0 tools; and (5) task design considerations. Findings of this study delineate how Web 2.0 tools are utilized in CALL and capitalize Web 2.0 features employed for different types of pedagogical activities. This paper argues that social technologies are valuable tools in the language classrooms but entail challenges regarding their theoretical and pedagogical alignment. The study concludes with some discussion and implications for instructional designers and practitioners.
... Rathakrishnan et al. state that web tools can increase communication and encourage peer collaboration [44]. Students can communicate with their team members to provide explanations and share opinions during collaborative work [45]. ...
... However, the evidence that Web 2.0 tools significantly enhance the learning experience [54] of English as a foreign language remains equivocal. Even though there are studies supporting the notion that Web 2.0 tools enhance the learning experience for EFL learners, some researchers have provided evidence against these findings [45,55]. Additionally, as far as the type of Web 2.0 tool is considered, most of the authors investigated the use of Google Docs, Google Sites, Moodle, WhatsApp, Blackboard, Wikispace, Wikitalia, Digital Storyboard, Digital Mysteries, Twitter, Skype, and Facebook for EFL learners [56]. ...
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In today’s globalized world, 21st century skills, such as communication and collaboration, are essential for success. For EFL (English as a foreign language) learners in Pakistan, acquiring these skills can be challenging due to the unique linguistic and cultural barriers they face. Web 2.0 tools, such as Padlet, can provide a platform for EFL learners to improve their communication and collaboration skills in a collaborative and engaging manner. The present study explores the potential of using Padlet to improve the 21st century skills of EFL learners in Pakistan. A quasi-experiment is conducted to compare the effectiveness of using Padlet versus traditional language-learning methods to improve EFL learners’ communication and collaboration skills. Learners’ perceptions of using Padlet in a collaborative learning context are also investigated. The findings indicated that the use of Padlet has a significant and positive effect on learners’ collaboration and communication skills, and that learners have a positive perception of using this tool in a collaborative learning context. The study provides preliminary and context-specific novel insights for language educators and learners on the potential of using Padlet to enhance the 21st century skills of EFL learners in Pakistan.
... Although small-group collaborative learning facilitated by technology tools shows promising advantages in enhancing learning, putting learners together does not automatically yield effective collaboration and productive learning (Chan, 2012;Janssen & Kirschner, 2020). The tool itself can pose additional cognitive, behavioral, and motivational challenges for learners' strategic regulation of collaborative writing (Kennedy & Miceli, 2013). Learners should know how to regulate their collaboration and learning (Teng, 2020). ...
... These functions facilitate learners to make both language-related and content-related revisions to their essays (Hsu, 2019). Although wiki environments can potentially promote student engagement and self-efficacy in writing, they can also provide challenges to student motivation as they must face the increased complexity of regulating collaboration (Kennedy & Miceli, 2013). It would be of significance to explore how learners co-regulate in collaborative writing and what role the co-regulation strategies may play in learners' self-efficacy. ...
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This study examined the structural relationship between learners' co-regulation strategies and writing self-efficacy in a computer-mediated collaborative writing setting. Two questionnaires about Co-Regulation Strategies (CRS) and English Writing Self-Efficacy (EWSE) were developed and administered to 219 college English language learners following six-week computer-mediated collaborative writing activities. The results of factor analysis indicated that learners' co-regulation strategies consist of five factors: co-planning, co-monitoring, co-evaluation, effort regulation, and help-seeking, while writing self-efficacy involves learners' confidence in writing ideation, writing conventions, and writing self-regulation. The path analysis revealed that students with better co-planning and co-evaluation strategies tended to be more confident in writing ideation and writing conventions. More interestingly, effort regulation and help-seeking acted as powerful predictors of self-efficacy for writing self-regulation. Learners' self-efficacy for writing ideation and conventions could also positively explain their self-efficacy for writing self-regulation. Suggestions were given regarding how to improve students' writing self-efficacy through promoting co-regulation in collaborative learning.
... The basic functions of wikis allow users multiple opportunities to post messages, present materials, draft and modify a text within a shared space (Aydin & Yildiz, 2014;Wang, 2015). As participatory tools that foster communication and collaboration (Ducate et al., 2011), wikis have gained popularity in education and have been adapted to foreign language classroom practices (Kennedy & Miceli, 2013;Zou, Wang, & Xing, 2016). Previous studies have shown the potential effectiveness of wiki affordances in EFL learning such as fostering the development of language skills (Chao, Lo & Lo, 2011), facilitating social interaction and collaboration (Wang, 2014), and enhancing collaborative autonomous learning abilities (Kessler & Bikowski, 2010). ...
... In another study conducted in Taiwan, Wang (2015) found that students who were engaged in the wiki-based business writing tasks enjoyed the challenge of this new learning experience. However, in contrast to the aforementioned research findings, Kennedy and Miceli (2013) evaluation of the integration of wikis into language course showed that instead of appreciating the wikis as expected, many students found this mode of collaboration challenging and developed little interest in participating in the wiki projects. Similar evidence can also be found in other studies that show students' reluctance to use wiki and their negative perception of its usefulness in promoting learning achievement (Li et al., 2012). ...
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In recent years, there has been an increasing interest among language educators in implementing and researching collaborative learning in wiki-based learning environments. However, little empirical evidence has been reported about the role of EFL learners’ online self-regulating capacity in their collaborative learning. This study used wiki-based literature circles as an instructional method to engage EFL learners in collaborative learning. Using a mixed research method, this study examined the under-researched relationship between learners’ online self-regulation and their attitude toward learning through wiki-based literature circles activities. Quantitative data were collected from two surveys, the online self-regulated English learning (OSEL) and the attitude toward wiki-based literature circles (AWLC), among 228 university students in China. Qualitative data were collected from a follow-up interview of 13 participants to explore further the interplay between the students’ online self-regulation and their attitude. The results indicated that students hold positive attitude toward learning through wiki-based literature circles in terms of perceived usefulness, self-efficacy, affection, and behavior. The findings partially confirmed the positive correlations between students’ self-regulated learning strategies and their attitudes. More interestingly, stepwise regression analysis revealed that students’ goal setting acted as a significant predicator of their perceived usefulness of and self-efficacy in completing wiki-based literature circles activities. Self-evaluation was found to be the variable to predict the learners’ affection for and behavior in doing this task. This study highlighted the positive role of students’ goal setting and self-evaluation for explaining their attitude toward wiki-based collaborative learning. Pedagogical implications and future work are also addressed.
... In this regard, it was determined that instructors generally assumed the roles of providing materials/platforms to students in technology use processes, providing guidance by guiding students, and reporting opinions/attitudes/perceptions towards the use of various technologies in TEFL. In line with this result, it is emphasized in the literature that in the process of technology use, instructors should guide the implementation process on many issues such as explaining the learning objectives by giving technology information to students before the activities (Chu vd., 2019), ensuring and maintaining their motivation (Zeng & Takatsuka, 2009), ensuring equal participation of all students (Kennedy & Miceli, 2013), determining tasks and giving feedback (Ernest vd., 2013), and providing timely and appropriate support. Otherwise, it is stated that students may develop negative perceptions about the related technologies (Shadiev et al., 2018). ...
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Changes in technology and the increase in its potential for language teaching have made it possible to restructure Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) models today. In this context, the aim of this study is to examine the methodological anatomy of theses on technology integration in TEFL from a techno-pedagogical perspective. In this direction, the descriptive features, methodological features, examined variables, used technological environments/tools/materials and the roles of instructors and students were examined. Within the scope of this study, content analysis was used for 110 graduate theses conducted in Turkey on technology integration in TEFL. According to the results of the study, it has been determined that the effects of different technologies on various skills have been examined with different research methods from past to present in the TEFL processes, and again in this process, studies tried to focus on skills that are almost directly related to the potential of each technology. However, in most of these research processes, it was observed that the potential offered by the relevant technology was utilized at a very basic level and in relation to this, especially students were given passive roles. As a result of the study, research and application suggestions were made that can better reveal the real potentials of related technologies in technology-assisted TEFL processes.
... On the other hand, a lack of monitoring and scaffolding can also cause low engagement (Huang, 2019;Kennedy & Miceli, 2013). Therefore, Reinhardt (2019) suggested that careful scaffolding of SNS resources is necessary for facilitating learners' gradual claim of ownership, thus increasing their autonomy. ...
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In this study, the use of a popular mobile social networking platform (WeChat) is investigated for learning Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) in a beginners’ course at an Australian university. Driven by practical considerations and major issues with previous literature, student engagement and authentic language used in a WeChat class group are investigated. Data was collected through weekly conversation episodes over a semester and from a student survey. Conversation episodes were analysed both quantitatively (by frequencies) and qualitatively (using a discourse approach). The study found that student engagement increased in frequency and complexity towards the end of the semester, and students used Chinese for various authentic purposes in the semi-formal context of class group chats. A microanalysis of transcripts illustrated how the use of Chinese in multilingual and multimodal practices achieved authentic social functions. However, individual differences were observed, and English was frequently used in chats. Recommendations are provided for scaffolding and for utilising different semiotic resources in dynamic group interactions.
... From the other hand, there are projects that can fail if the proper pedagogical focus is not given to the learners, like the study of Kennedy & Miceli (2013). They used a wiki for their university level beginning Italian learners at three Australian campuses. ...
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This study investigates the potential affordances of new technologies and the opportunities offered by wikis in facilitating L2 collaborative writing in university settings for the teaching of culture. Participants were 92 undergraduate students of Italian as foreign language in the department of Italian Language and Literature of the university of Athens. They attended and participated in a laboratory course of alternative culture environments and online activities in foreign language. A task-based wiki environment managed to involve the students in a variety of online activities culturally meaningful and authentic educational activities. An initial and a final questionnaire were selected and analysed by ANOVA and POST HOC TEST (Tukey) confirming that online collaborative wikis tools are able to promote teamwork, can increase knowledge of culture and foreign language and can create positive conditions for cultivating creativity and collaborative, written expression. Article visualizations: </p
... This experience is in accordance with the findings of Kennedy and Miceli (2013), who also used wikis with beginner foreign language learners and encountered problems, technical and others. Kennedy and Miceli (2013: 405-408) make interesting proposals regarding the integration of wikis in an introductory course, which are worth pursuing. ...
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The Online Greek Course (OGC) is an e-learning environment for Modern Greek as a second/foreign language for adults in Greece or abroad. It is hosted in the Learning Management System of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and was awarded the "European Language Label 2016". The OGC is an exclusively online course which combines synchronous and asynchronous learning. This article presents the combination of technological tools used in OGC to serve its learning objectives. The OGC employs tools of both tutorial CALL (learning objects) and Computer Mediated Communication (CMC, namely, students" forum, wiki and web conferencing) in a language learning program, which aims at developing both the receptive and productive skills for levels A1 and A2. Using CMC tools in order to integrate oral tasks for the virtual classroom and writing tasks for the students" forum is the key feature of OGC.
... From the other hand, there are projects that can fail if the proper pedagogical focus is not given to the learners, like the study of Kennedy & Miceli (2013). They used a wiki for their university level beginning Italian learners at three Australian campuses. ...
Article
Full-text available
This study investigates the potential affordances of new technologies and the opportunities offered by wikis in facilitating L2 collaborative writing in university settings for the teaching of culture. Participants were 92 undergraduate students of Italian as foreign language in the department of Italian Language and Literature of the university of Athens. They attended and participated in a laboratory course of alternative culture environments and online activities in foreign language. A task-based wiki environment managed to involve the students in a variety of online activities culturally meaningful and authentic educational activities. An initial and a final questionnaire were selected and analysed by ANOVA and POST HOC TEST (Tukey) confirming that online collaborative wikis tools are able to promote teamwork, can increase knowledge of culture and foreign language and can create positive conditions for cultivating creativity and collaborative, written expression.
... Although wiki shows promising advantages in collaboration and co-construction of knowledge, these affordances does not occur automatically and wiki-based environment cannot guarantee good performance (De Wever et al. 2015). As with other forms of online learning, wiki-supported literature circles also pose additional challenges for students' strategic regulation of cognition, motivation, emotion, and behavior (Kennedy and Miceli 2013). To ensure successful collaboration, students in groups need to engage, sustain, support, and productively regulate their collaboration processes Järvelä et al. 2016aJärvelä et al. , 2016b. ...
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Combining wiki technology with the literature circles could be powerful and beneficial for promoting the learning of English as a foreign language (EFL). However, little research has been conducted to investigate the role of EFL students’ social forms of regulatory strategies in their learning performance in the context of wiki-supported literature activities. This research explored how students’ social regulation strategies relate to learning engagement and learning outcomes. Ninety-five college EFL students participated in wiki-supported literature circles activities. The results showed that “socially shared regulation” acted as a predictor for students’ engagement, while “co-regulation” acted as a predictor for students’ learning outcomes. The results also highlighted the roles of “monitoring,” “time management,” and “task understanding” in predicting students’ learning performance. In addition, this study also revealed that the students’ social regulation strategies focused more on “planning,” “time management,” and “task understanding”, with few regulatory strategies in “evaluation” and “content monitoring.” The results are discussed, and suggestions for teachers, tool developers and researchers are also proposed.
... However, projects may fail if the tasks are not perceived as aligned with learner needs and wiki affordances. For example, while most wiki projects are implemented at the intermediate level or above, Kennedy & Miceli (2013) sought to use a wiki for their university-level beginning Italian learners at three Australian campuses. The wiki served as a common space for notice boards, discussion, social networking, and resource sharing. ...
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This review surveys and synthesizes the findings of 87 focal pieces, published primarily since 2009 and mid 2018, on the formal and informal use of social media—blogs, wikis, and social networking—for second and foreign language teaching and learning (L2TL), including studies on the use of educational sites like Livemocha and Busuu and vernacular sites like Facebook and Twitter. The article frames the review in the development of social media and the history of social computer-assisted language learning (CALL) research. Synthesis identifies common findings, including that social media can afford the development of intercultural, sociopragmatic, and audience awareness, language learner and user identities, and particular literacies. Presentation of the focal pieces and common findings is intertwined with discussion of problematic issues, and each section concludes with a summary and implications for future research and practice.
... Additionally, collaborators were more motivated and had lower levels of test anxiety and more positive perceptions on the use of Google Docs. In their literature review, Liu and Lan (2016) also reported on similar studies, which showed that web-based collaboration led to the creation of positive perceptions and feelings of community-belonging (Kessler, Bikowski, and Boggs 2012;Kennedy and Miceli 2013) and strengthened students" motivation minimising feelings of anxiety (Warschauer 1996). ...
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Being one of the most important and influential advancements in information technology since the emergence of the Internet, cloud computing has invaded the area of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), among other fields, due to its flexibility, availability, practicality and cost effectiveness. In 2006 Google developed its Apps for Education, currently referred to as “G Suite for Education”, that provide teachers and students with access to different tools, such as Classroom, Mail, Drive, Calendar, Docs, etc., each serving different educational purposes. This paper reports on a research study conducted at the Cyprus University of Technology Language Centre in Fall 2016, in the context of two blended English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses for first-year students of the Departments of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science and Commerce, Finance and Shipping, which are based on social constructivist approaches with elements of connectivism and student-centered teaching methods. The study aimed at eliciting data on the students’ views regarding the ease of use of G Suite for Education tools, difficulties encountered during their use, and their efficiency in the teaching and learning process. Data was obtained through an online questionnaire, consisting of Likert scale and open-ended questions, administered to the students at the end of the semester. Findings illustrate that students viewed the use of G Suite for Education tools in their EAP courses very positively, both in terms of ease of use and efficiency in the learning and teaching process, encountering only minor difficulties during their use.
... In the domain of second language acquisition, a considerable body of research has documented the benefits of wiki affordances in supporting students' formation of shared knowledge (Li and Zhu 2013), promoting students' motivation to use the foreign language (Ducate et al. 2011), developing learner autonomy (Kessler 2009), and advancing innovative and active learning (Wang 2015). As with other forms of online learning, wikis can also pose additional challenges for students' strategic regulation of collaborative learning (Kennedy and Miceli 2013). Examining how students engage in regulation of their individual and shared learning enables us to better understand successful interaction that enables collaborative learning (Ucan and Webb 2015). ...
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Students’ regulation has been conceptualized as an important impetus for effective and efficient collaborative learning. However, little empirical evidence has been reported about language learners’ regulatory behaviors in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). The purpose of this study is to investigate the occurrence of self and social aspects of regulation during wiki-supported collaborative reading activities in the context of learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Sixty Chinese college students organized in twelve groups participated in this study over a sixteen-week semester. Using an integrated method of content analysis and sequential analysis, students’ chat logs were coded and analyzed to explore the characteristics of students’ self and social regulatory behaviors in terms of regulation type, regulation process, and regulation focus. Results indicate that all groups demonstrated active social regulation in the collaborative activities. Compared with low-performing groups, high-performing groups displayed distinctively different patterns of regulatory behaviors in “social regulation,” “evaluating,” “content monitoring,” and “social emotional regulation.” Moreover, the analysis further reveals a more continuous and smooth regulation in the high-performing groups, while low-performing groups tended to be lost in a single repeated regulatory behavior pattern such as “self-regulation” or “organizing”. This study not only fills a gap in the current collaborative English learning literature, but also contributes to our knowledge of social regulation in CSCL. Pedagogical implications and future research are also addressed.
... Kessler et al. (2012) note through a survey that students felt that each member of the group had contributed and had a valuable role when working online. Kennedy and Miceli (2013) report a stronger sense of community among those working together via online technology. Zhou et al. (2012) argue that web-based writing technology (e.g., Google Docs) significantly altered the collaborative processes of participating college undergraduates. ...
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Aim/Purpose: In this study, the authors examine how an online word processing tool can be used to encourage participation among students of different language back-grounds, including English Language Learners. To be exact, the paper discusses whether student participation in anonymous collaborative writing via Google Docs can lead to more successful products in a linguistically diverse eighth-grade English Language Arts classroom. Background: English Language Learners (ELLs) make up a considerable portion of elementary and secondary public school students, as language and ethnic diversity has become the norm in the United States. The research literature finds that ELLs are statistically behind their monolingual peers on such key language and academic development indicators as writing. Educators and researchers then turn to collaborative writing with the assistance of online technology. Although it is shown in literature to be a worthwhile endeavor for students of all ages and ability levels, no studies have investigated the differences it makes, namely, in comparison to traditional face-to-face collaboration in the classroom, and to anonymous online collaboration in the virtual space. Methodology: Through face-to-face, online, and anonymous writing activities, a rubric, and a survey, this quantitative study asks if anonymous collaborative writing, com-pared to other modalities, equalizes participation among students of varying language fluencies, and if anonymous collaborative writing, compared to other modalities, affect student comfort levels. Contribution: This builds on research of online collaborative writing tools and suggests that using such tools (Google Docs in particular) is beneficial, especially for students who are building their language abilities. The study further reveals varied degree of success and student comfort level in participating writing tasks in three modalities. Findings: We ascertain that students of varying language fluencies participated more equally when they were able to remain anonymous. Face-to-face writing exhibited the highest overall scores, and students enjoyed working on Google Docs. Recommendations for Practitioners: Future and current teachers are encouraged to be open to new technologies and be creative in the use of technology to facilitate student learning. They should have the opportunity to participate in the discussion on how, not if, integrating technology impacts the cognitive, social, and cultural dimensions of teaching. Recommendation for Researchers: After this initial quantitative study on students’ reactions to various modalities of technology-supported writing formats, the next questions to ask may be how students were engaging in dialogues during face-to-face sessions or chat features of Google Docs trials, and what types of edits students are making. Researchers should turn their focus on secondary school classrooms where there is an increasing impact of technology-assisted collaborative writing on student learning and teaching pedagogy. Impact on Society: As online technology has become an integral part of daily life, it is beneficial to educators, policy makers, and classroom teachers to understand how technology can be integrated in writing programs and to what extent the integration can help boost student motivation and participation. Future Research: More longitudinal research on online assisted collaborative writing and addi-tional quantitative data are needed to further understand the complexities of the writing process in-group online writing and the nature of collaboration.
... Many studies have supported the positive effect on collaboration on language learning. Kennedy and Miceli (2013), for example, find collaboration an effective factor in EFL learners' perception of wikis and sense of integration in a community. ...
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Incidental vocabulary learning is one of the most significant sources of learning vocabulary for language learners )Laufer & Hulstjin, 2001). This study endeavored to investigate the effect of using online collaborative tasks on incidental vocabulary learning of impulsive vs. reflective Iranian EFL learners. To this end, Nelson vocabulary proficiency test was administered to 100 Iranian EFL learners as the homogeneity test and the pretest. Using random sampling procedure, 75 learners were selected as the main participants for this study. Kember, McKay, Sinclair and Wong (2008) reflective thinking questionnaire was administered to these learners, based on which they were distinguished based on their cognitive thinking styles, i.e., impulsivity and reflectivity. The participants were homogenously distributed into 3 main groups (impulsive experimental group, reflective experimental group, and the control group). All participants went through 4 weeks of treatment. Experimental groups were conducted using Telegram software and the control group was conducted in a classroom. The results of t-test after 4 weeks of treatment revealed that reflective learners benefited from online collaborative groups with regard to incidental vocabulary learning. The findings of the study are discussed in light of previous research.
... Those results have been corroborated by other studies. For example, Kennedy and Miceli (2013) reported on that those working with others tended to have more positive perceptions and greater appreciation of wikis, as they were more likely to feel connected to others or to feel a sense of community. ...
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This study reports on the differences in motivation, vocabulary gain, and perceptions on Google Docs between individual and collaborative learning at a tertiary level. Two classes of English-as-a-Foreign Language (EFL) students were recruited and each class was randomly assigned into one of the two groups - individuals or collaborators. The results of the study are in line with those of previous studies in that the collaborators performed better than the individuals regarding vocabulary gain. The former was more likely than the latter to be motivated to acquire knowledge and to perceive the learning experience more positively. However, the results of this study suggest that, like many other Web 2.0 applications in support of peer scaffolding and knowledge co-construction, Google Docs plays a pivotal role in enhancing students¡¦ motivation and involvement.
Chapter
Owing to ever-changing technological advances, the landscape of language education has been reformed significantly. The aim of the chapter is to provide theoretical and practical guidance for teachers and candidate teachers about how to integrate technology to academic writing instruction during online courses. In this chapter, a new generation of digital approaches to academic writing instruction would be discussed reviewing the related literature and then the instructional offers would be presented with available effective digital writing tools and task samples. The content of the chapter includes three subsections: (1), the theoretical discussion on academic writing and technology integration referring to digital writing and multimodal practices, (2), the practical implementations of the tools and tasks within the framework of Critical Reading and Writing course, and (3) evaluation and discussion on future research and practices. Available innovative online tools would be exemplified referring to the stages and processes of writing lesson; for example, Lucidspark for brainstorming, Padlet, Cube Creator, Zoho Writer for collaborative interactive writing and Adobe Spark, Pixton for adding visuals. Furthermore, implemented task samples using these tools and additional ideas for classroom practices are presented within the scope of the chapter.KeywordsMultimodal writingAcademic EnglishOnline instructionTechnology integrationWeb 2.0 tools
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This article belongs to the ongoing debate in online FL (foreign language) motivation, which was brought into the limelight by the COVID-19 outbreak. More broadly, it stands vis-à-vis the theoretical framework of FL learning motivation in the distance learning context and the role of the learning experience on students’ FL motivation. The study was conducted with 76 university students attending an online foreign language course as part of their academic curriculum and examines the impact of online individual and collaborative activities on students’ FL motivation. Data was collected through a self-completion questionnaire, which was published online. Findings indicate that even if respondents show a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motives to participate in the activities, their motivation to persevere learning tends mostly towards internal sources regardless of whether they engage in individual or collaborative activities.
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With the emergence of educational technology, technology-enhanced collaborative language learning had gained increasing attention from learners, educators, and researchers, and a large number of studies had been conducted to investigate the effects of technology-enhanced collaborative learning on students’ development of language knowledge and affective status. However, little comprehensive review that investigated all aspects of the field thoroughly had been conducted, and the present research was an attempt in response to this call. Specifically, this research reviewed 40 articles on technology-enhanced collaborative language learning from five aspects, (1) the nature of publications, (2) the theoretical frameworks of the previous research, (3) the types of the technologies for collaborative language learning, (4) the effectiveness of the technologies, and (5) the implications of the studies. The results showed 10 theoretical frameworks, nine types of technologies, and 11 benefits of technology-enhanced collaborative language learning. Important implications were also discussed for future design and implementation of technology-enhanced collaborative language learning activities.
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This paper focuses on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) among foreign language (FL) graduate students from three universities, who worked together to create a wiki. In order to investigate the nature of CSCL among participants, this qualitative case study used the Curtis and Lawson framework (2001) to conduct a content analysis of learners' collaborative behaviors. Transcript and survey analyses indicate that the success of collaborative interaction depends largely on the group members themselves. Differing levels of participation indicate that not everyone was equally involved with the wiki project, which ultimately affected the level of collaboration, the group dynamics, and the final product. In addition, the leader in each group influenced the degree of collaboration taking place in her group.
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With the increasing popularity of Web 2.0 tools, it only follows that these technologies are adapted to our foreign language classroom practices. Research shows their numerous advantages as participatory tools that foster communication and collaboration. This study focuses on one such tool, the wiki, and describes the implementation of three different wiki projects (micropedia, branching story, and pre-reading) in three university intermediate foreign language classes (French, Spanish, and German). The objective is two-fold: to investigate (1) the type of collaboration that wikis foster, and (2) students’ perceptions of this collaborative work. Results from a post-experimental questionnaire point to the positive effect of wikis on students’ motivation to use the foreign language, while revealing varying degrees of satisfaction with collaborative work.
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This paper reflects on the experience of introducing Wiki technology into a “Japanese for Beginners” module at one of the universities in the UK and the evaluation of learner experiences that followed. The findings of both qualitative and quantitative data analysis are reported in the light of their significance for e-learning research and practice.
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Wikis represent a particular type of collaborative learning environment where collaboration can result in aggregated, collective products. This study makes the claim that such potential challenges language production practices in school where the individual learner's output is often the focus of attention. The argument is put forth by juxtaposing theory, literature review, and videotaped wiki activities. Wikis are examined in a sociocultural perspective, in particular the notions of collective zones of proximal development and sociogenesis—that we come to knowledge by taking part in activities where individuals relate to a greater collective that evolves over time and where language and material artifacts function as structural resources. A review of some recent research in CALL and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) seeks to form a backdrop for this study of collective language production. Empirically the argument is illustrated and supported by selected videotape transcripts of learner interactions involving the use of a wiki in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. The study shows that learners work in and across activity types that create tensions between individual and collective, institutional and novel practices, but that the wiki also holds the potential for collective knowledge advancement and language development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (from the journal abstract)
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Wikis are one of many Web 2.0 components that can be used to enhance the learning process. A wiki is a web communication and collaboration tool that can be used to engage students in learn- ing with others within a collaborative environment. This paper explains wiki usage, investigates its contribution to various learning paradigms, examines the current literature on wiki use in edu- cation, and suggests additional uses in teaching software engineering.
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The use of social technologies, such as wikis and chats, has brought a renewed attention to L2 collaborative writing. Yet, a question that still remains to be answered is the extent to which learners’ writing is enhanced when using these tools. By analyzing learners’ individual and collaborative writing, this study (a) explores L2 learners’ approaches to the writing task in the wikis, (b) examines learners’ collaborative synchronous interactions when discussing content, structure and other aspects related to the elaboration of the writing task, and (c) describes learners’ perceptions of individual and collaborative writing and their impressions of the use of social tools in the FL writing class. Analysis of the data showed that while statistically significant differences were not evident in terms of fluency, accuracy and complexity when comparing the individual and collaborative assignments, there were observable trends that inform us about how learners’ interactions with the text differ when working individually or collaboratively. Further, an analysis of learners’ approaches to collaborative writing through the use of social tools shows that wikis and chats allowed them to concentrate on writing components in a different, yet complementary, manner depending on whether they interacted in the wikis or in the chats.
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Cooperative learning (CL) has been found to be a highly effective instructional approach in education in general and this has been confirmed with regard to second language (L2) learning as well. This article investigates reasons for the success of CL from a psychological perspective, focusing on two interrelated processes: the unique group dynamics of CL classes and the motivational system generated by peer cooperation. It is argued that the affective domain of CL plays a crucial role in the educational potential of the method. This paper summarizes the specific factors that contribute to the promotion of learning gains. While the analysis concerns cooperatively structured learning only, it is assumed that the processes described have a broader relevance to understanding the success of peer collaboration in general.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which wiki writing improves college students’ grammatical knowledge in Spanish as a second language (L2). Fifty-three students participated in the study for three consecutive semesters. Pre- and posttest results show that wiki writing was helpful in improving their grammatical knowledge. In addition, students found designed wiki writing useful and helpful for developing their writing skills and L2 learning; however, they felt uncomfortable editing other students’ writing and doubted the accuracy of others’ editing. Discussion and implications for using wiki writing are provided.
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Collaboration entails working together toward a common goal, but what is the common goal we want students to work toward in classes? What kinds of interactions and outcomes do we value as collaboration, and how do we facilitate them? This paper addresses these questions, beginning with an examination of research on groups, community, and shared cognition that inform collaboration, and then addressing what we mean when by collaboration. Three questions define the discussion: Why do we emphasize collaboration and try to engage students in collaborative activities and collaborative learning? What outcomes do we expect from collaboration in terms of how students interact, tasks are conducted, learning accomplished, and knowledge created? How does communication differ online from offline, and how does the difference affect collaboration? Each section ends with some recommendations on how to facilitate collaboration, and the paper concludes with a brief summary and some key concepts for facilitating collaborative activity.
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In light of the increasingly blurred line between mediated and nonmediated contexts for social, professional, and educational purposes, attention to the presence and use of in- novative digital media is critical to the consideration of the future of computer-assisted language learning (CALL). This article reviews current trends in the use of mediated com- munication and offers a vision for near-future second and foreign language (L2) learning that utilizes emerging media as (a) meaningful contexts for L2 language development and (b) a means for adding real world relevance to in-class uses of internet-mediated communication tools. In this article, we first explore a sampling of Web 2.0 technologies (e.g., blogs, wikis, and social bookmarking) related to collaborative content building and dissemination of information. We then consider three types of 3-dimensional virtual en- vironments, including open social virtualities (such as Second Life and There), massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) (e.g., World of Warcraft, Everquest, and Eve On- line), and synthetic immersive environments (SIEs, i.e., visually rendered spaces which combine aspects of open social virtualities with goal-directed gaming models to address specific learning objectives). In particular, we report on SIEs as they might be used to foster interlanguage pragmatic development and briefly report on an existing project in this area. The ultimate goal is to spark future research and pedagogical innovation in these areas of emerging digital media in order to arrive at a greater understanding of the complexities involved in their integration with language learning in ways that will be most relevant to the communicative contexts of the 21st century.
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Wikis, as one of the Web 2.0 social networking tools, have been increasingly integrated into second language (L2) instruction to promote collaborative writing. This paper reports on a case study involving 35 university students at the beginning level who contributed to wiki pages over a period of 14 weeks. The affordances and constraints of using wikis for collaborative writing were drawn from data triangulation: (a) group wiki pages, (b) student surveys, and (c) final interviews. The results show that creating wikis had a positive impact on the development of students' writing skills through collaborative engagement. Scaffolding through peer feedback played a crucial role in the L2 writing process through which students not only helped each other organize the content but also made error corrections for language accuracy. In addition, the results indicate that task type affected the amount of writing produced by each group. The study suggests that the instructor needs to guide students during the revision process and offer them hints and tips for effective use of feedback. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures and 9 notes.)
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Generational generalisations regarding how students interact with technology have been used in recent times to prompt calls for radical changes to the delivery of teaching in higher education. This article reports on a study aimed to investigate first‐year students' technology access and usage in two contexts of use: everyday life and academic study. A survey was delivered to first‐year students across seven faculties of an Australian university during the second semester of the 2008 academic year. A total of 470 respondents met the criteria for this study. The findings suggest a wide diversity of usage of technologies with the usage rates of technology in academic study being generally lower than those in everyday life. These findings indicated that generational generalisations are not useful in informing the design of learning and teaching in higher education. However, there are questions regarding reliability of current survey‐based methods to examine students' technology use and the level of diversity discovered across both contexts of use. This suggests that further in‐depth research into how students shape technology to suit their lives is required to gain a greater understanding of how technology can effectively support teaching and learning.
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This paper discusses the implementation of a Wiki project in an introductory course on the literature and culture of Quebec, addressing the practical reasons for using the Wiki as a medium for project-based learning and describing the learning process that occurred in the course of the project. With the flexibility to support both individual and collaborative web-based projects, the Wiki format presented an alternative to oral presentations formerly required for the course and allowed students to interact in a web-based environment. Throughout the Wiki project, students engaged in process-oriented learning through ongoing revision of their work and peer editing activities. The dynamic character of the Wiki environment enabled learners to become active participants in their education. Aspects of the learning process are discussed in terms of several sociocultural concepts applied to language learning. A brief discussion of the successes and shortcomings of the project is presented, along with suggestions for future development. INTRODUCTION It is not surprising that many language educators have earned the reputation of "early adopters" of technology within their institutions. Driven by the goal of promoting language learning in context, language educators continue to explore uses of technology to promote opportunities for authentic communication. This paper documents one attempt at implementing a relatively new web-based technology with the goal of promoting greater student engagement through a dynamic and creative form of communication. The Wiki project described in this paper constituted one component of a course in the French curriculum at Skidmore College entitled Introduction to the Culture and Literature of Quebec. The course focuses primarily on the literature of Quebec and serves as a gateway course to more advanced literature classes. As such, training in the skills of literary analysis represents one of the prime objectives of the course. The majority of student assignments consist of fairly rigidly structured assignments guiding students in the development of analytical skills. The culture component of the course, the focus of a 55-minute weekly lab class, provides an opportunity for creative and more individualized work in the form of student presentations and projects. The Wiki project was conceived as a means of promoting discovery of Québécois culture in a manner that would maximize opportunities for individual choice and creativity.
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The purpose of this study was to analyze a five-week graduate-level education course taught entirely at a distance via the Internet using the Blackboard.comSM e-learning system, with emphasis on exploring the dynamics of sense of classroom community. Subjects were 20 adult learners, evenly divided between males and females, who were administered the sense of classroom community index at the beginning and end of the course in order to measure classroom community. Findings indicated that on-line learners took advantage of the “learn anytime” characteristics of the Internet by accessing the course seven days per week, 24 hours per day. Sense of classroom community grew significantly during the course. Females manifested a stronger sense of community than their male counterparts both at the start and end of the course. Additionally, female students exhibited a mostly connected communication pattern while the communication pattern of males was mostly independent.
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This paper investigates authentic writing through the use of wikis by Year 7 ESL learners in a secondary school in Hong Kong. The wikis were used as a collaborative writing platform to produce – with minimal input and support from their teachers – wiki content that describes the different facilities and features of their school. Over a period of two months, as an integral part of their ESL homework, groups of students designed and put together, through a series of successive drafts, a description of their secondary school which they had joined from primary school a few months previously. After an initial overview of how wikis function in terms of editing and revision, the paper describes the process one group of learners went through. Samples are provided of the students’ intermediate and final drafts, as well as snapshots of the amount and the types of writing produced at each stage. The students’ final draft became a printed brochure of their ‘new’ school to be distributed to parents. In the light of this real ‘outcome’, the paper discusses the place of authentic writing, situated within the domains of creativity and task-based learning, in a school’s ESL programme.
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This paper reports on a failed experiment to use Wiki technology to support student engagement with the subject matter of a third year undergraduate module. Using qualitative data, the findings reveal that in an educational context, social technologies such as Wiki’s, are perceived differently compared with ordinary personal use and this discourages student adoption. A series of insights are then offered which help HE teachers understand the pitfalls of integrating social technologies in educational contexts.
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This article reports key findings from the first phase of a research project investigating Net generation age students as they encounter e-learning at five universities in England. We take a critical view of the idea of a distinct generation which has been described using various terms including Net generation and Digital Natives and explore age related differences amongst first year university students. The article draws on evidence from a survey of first year undergraduates studying a range of pure and applied subjects. Overall we found a complex picture amongst first-year students with the sample population appearing to be a collection of minorities. These included a small minority that made little use of some technologies and larger minorities that made extensive use of new technologies. Often the use of new technology was in ways that did not fully correspond with the expectations that arise from the Net generation and Digital Natives theses. The article concludes that whilst there are strong age related variations amongst the sample it is far to simplistic to describe young first-year students born after 1983 as a single generation. The authors find that the generation is not homogenous in its use and appreciation of new technologies and that there are significant variations amongst students that lie within the Net generation age band.
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This paper discusses ongoing research at Deakin University, which focuses on developing wikis to foster web-based learning communities. Research to date has used wikis to facilitate collaborative icebreaker exercises, discussions, and to create knowledge repositories. Student feedback has contributed to the iterative revision of the wiki interface, the icebreaker exercise and the development of new tasks for students to complete using the wiki. The analysis and discussion of the experiments presented in this paper focuses on usage trends such as the signature, viewing and editing patterns exhibited by the student cohort. The community building potential of wikis is discussed, highlighting the specific wiki features that can be used to foster a sense of community in a web-based learning environment. Finally, issues surrounding the development of web-based learning communities, which have emerged through the wiki study, are discussed and future directions are outlined.
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This paper explores the potential for wiki-type open architecture software to promote and support collaborative learning through the use of student- created content. It delineates some of the affordances and constraints of wiki software as an open architecture that has the potential to facilitate collabora- tive learning through community-focused enquiry. It seeks to promote debate in this key area of development, and highlights some recent key contributions to the developing discourse on social software in what has been termed 'the architecture of participation'.
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This article describes the experience of integrating a class blog into an advanced Italian course, in order to provide an out-of-class forum for language practice and for sharing course-related ideas and information. It also reports on an evaluation of the blog's effectiveness, drawing on an analysis of the students' blog contributions and their responses to questionnaires. We argue that blogs can play a significant role in promoting learners' interaction and nurturing a sense of class community. For this to happen, however, careful attention to two key aspects is required: the way in which the use of the blog is integrated into the course content and structure, and the teachers' role in moderating and facilitating blog interaction. Yes Yes
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Contenido: 1. De los conceptos al uso de los wiki: Introducción a los servidores de discusión y colaboración; ¿Qué es un wiki?; Instalación del wiki; Uso de los wikis; Estructuración del contenido de los wikis; 2. Comprensión de los cortes: Personalización de los wikis; Examen de los componentes del wiki; Alternativas y extensiones; Administración y herramientas de los wikis; 3. Imagínese las posibilidades: Penetración y otras voces; Wiki en la educación; Wiki en el trabajo; Apéndices: Comparaciones sintácticas; Recursos para wiki; Lista de recomendaciones.
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In a knowledge-based, networked economy, students leaving university need to have attained skills in collaborative and creative project-based work and to have developed critical, reflective practices. This paper outlines how a wiki can been used as part of social constructivist pedagogical practice which aims to develop advanced ICT literacies in university students. The paper describes the implementation of a wiki-based project as part of a subject in New Media Technologies at Queensland University of Technology. We discuss the strengths and challenges involved in using networked, collaborative learning strategies in institutional environments that still operate in traditional paradigms.
L'utilizzo degli ambienti wiki per l'apprendimento collaborativo a distanza [Using wiki environments for collaborative distance learning]
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Wikis in the college classroom: A comparative study of online and face-to-face group collaboration at a private liberal arts university (PhD dissertation) Kent State University, Ohio Technological diversity: An investigation of students' technology use in everyday life and academic study
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Wikis in hybrid classes as instruments for language learning opportunities
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