Using Wiki technology for primary-school students' collaborative projects : affordances, constraints and evaluation

Abstract

The project-based collaboration setting is becoming increasingly common at different educational levels. Recent years have witnessed the rising use of wikis as computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments. However, reports on the application of wiki technology in facilitating collaborative projects at the primary level are few; in particular, information on the affordances and constraints of wikis at this learning stage is limited. Such information is essential for educators when planning and implementing wikis as an effective educational tool.

This study aimed to introduce wiki technology to facilitate collaborative project-based learning (Collaborative PjBL) in a primary “General Studies” (GS) course and to explore the associated affordances and constraints. A total of 388 Hong Kong Primary-five (P5) students from 4 local Chinese primary schools used a wiki for their social science group project during their GS course. Adopting a mixed-method approach, a combination of qualitative and quantitative data were collected, including focus group interviews, students’ activities within the wiki platform, students’ reflections written on the wiki pages, and a questionnaire. These data were used to explore the affordances and constraints of the wiki for collaborative projects as perceived by the primary-school students, and to gain an understanding of students’ attitudes towards and perceptions of the wiki in general.

The findings showed that the wiki provided five kinds of educational affordances, six kinds of technological affordances, and two kinds of social affordances. The affordances that were aimed for the collaborative PjBL task were therefore achieved. At the same time, constraints were found to be related to technological factors and users’ dispositions. To counterbalance constraints, teachers could select wiki variants and provide more scaffolding on the use of wiki during the process of project completion. Students’ attitudes and perceptions towards the wiki were found to be strongly positive after the group project implementation.

The research contributes to our understanding of the use of a form of social media, wiki technology, in primary education. On a theoretical level, it deepens previous research by identifying the categories of the wiki’s affordances and constraints for primary-school students’ collaborative PjBL. On a practical level, the pedagogical implications derived from this study may provide guidelines for primary-school educators to plan collaborative PjBL activities with wiki technology.