Engaging students in wiki collaboration

I’ve had some interesting conversations in the last couple of weeks about student engagement in course wikis – feedback ranged from students who didn’t stop contributing even after exams were complete, through to cases where students just ‘didn’t see the point’. So how do you maximise student engagement in a collaborative wiki? Should contributions be assessed? If so, how? and does it make a difference to engagement?

I came across an interesting post by Barbara Schroeder on the Technology Teacher blog where she offers some suggestions, in summary:

1. Include detailed wiki instructions or a link on the home page and provide time for practice
2. Post wiki conventions and require participants to abide by them
3. Be patient with students and realize they may require technical assistance as they learn how to participate in a wiki environment
4. Create a culture of trust within the wiki
5. Provide clear and explicit course expectations
6. Assign meaningful, authentic activities
7. Include a common goal for collaborative activities
8. Define and identify student roles, activities, and assessments
9. Remind students of course deadlines and schedules
10. Model examples of collaborative activities

I’d be interested to hear what you think of them and what else you might add?

[CC FlickR image: Myelin Repair Foundation]