Who is Dr. Ron Elcombe?
Dr. Ron Elcombe, WSU Professor of Mass Communication, teaches MCOM 400, Mass Communication Theory, a class of 29 students.
Dr. Elcombe's Goals
One of Dr. Elcombe's objectives for the term was to have the students update the research on various mass media effects topics in a six-year-old text, Fundamentals of Media Effects by Bryant and Thompson. The class was divided into seven groups, each of which "updated" their chosen topic by summarizing current research in the field.
Dr. Elcombe wanted "a tool that promoted an in-depth understanding of their chosen topic and allowed them to work collaboratively." He wanted a different way of sharing information and using that shared information in a new approach to the research paper – a paper that was academic in nature, but not the traditional 20-page research document: a "different deliverable".
Finally, he wanted to use a technology that students are likely to use in the future, one that would allow for collaboration over great distances, and not necessarily face-to-face.
Introducing a Wiki
Dr. Elcombe decided that using a wiki in his class would be the best way to meet the objectives. The DokuWiki software was selected based on its ease of setup, the ability to manage project-oriented areas, and its relatively simple authoring tools that allowed students to start contributing quickly. The class was divided into groups by topic and given full control over the creation and management of content in their own topic area. Changes to other groups' topic areas were prohibited. Students were graded both on the quality of the overall group "deliverable" and on their individual effort. Students spent about 20-25% of class time during a 7-week period working live in the wiki, which Dr. Elcombe described as very productive.
Conclusions and Observations
After spending six weeks using a wiki in his class, Dr. Elcombe does feel that his goals were met – but not without some initial difficulties: "We turned them loose on the wiki and saw what worked and what didn't."
At times the wiki felt cumbersome, perhaps stemming from from students’ lack of familiarity with the tool and the free-form approach it encourages – Dr. Elcombe indicated that the next time he used a wiki, the structure of the project would be more clearly defined including a separate area in the wiki dedicated to discussion. Further defining the project may save time and give students more guidance and structure.
Dr. Elcombe especially appreciated the transparency. "You can see exactly who is doing the work in a project." He did note that it was difficult to collate that effort for grading, which represents a challenge when using wikis for instructional purposes.
He did say that he would use wikis in his classes again, in order to continue to identify their strengths and weaknesses as a collaborative tool,. He felt very strongly that wikis, "helped students gain experience in the research process, because in the end it is the process that will serve them well."
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