Enhancing successful outcomes of wiki-based collaborative writing: a state-of-the-art review of facilitation frameworks

Abstract

This state-of-the-art review research undertook a survey of a variety of studies regarding wiki-based collaborative writing projects and from this body of work extracted the best practices tenets of facilitation. Wiki-based collaborative writing projects are becoming more common in second language (L2) pedagogy. Such projects have multiple aims. These include, among other benefits, L2 acquisition, P2P learning, collaboration and immersion in new technologies that will inform the social and professional lives of the students. By mining a variety of wiki-based collaborative writing projects for the specific meta and secondary facilitation practices, the researchers were able to develop a general framework that will assist instructors of university or advanced high school students who wish to engage their students in such projects. The attributes of good facilitation that the researchers have isolated are by no means exhaustive, nor are they a guarantee of successful outcomes. These attributes do, however, provide a good starting point for any teacher or instructional designer who wants to provide an environment that fosters student satisfaction, motivation and learning.

Keywords:

• wiki
• writing
• collaboration
• facilitation
• review
• Web 2.0

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the two anonymous reviewers and the Editor, Professor Joseph Psotka, for their constructive comments and supports. This work was supported by the National Science Council in Taiwan (NSC 101-2631-S-006-001-CC3, NSC 100-2511-S-006-001-MY2 and NSC 102-2511-S-006-005-MY3).

Notes on contributors

Andrew Stoddart teaches English at Far East University, Taiwan. He is currently completing an M. A. in Linguistics at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan, Taiwan. He received a B.A. from Trent University in Canada in 1992. His research interests include the pedagogical implications of second language English teaching in light of the role of English as a global Lingua Franca and the adoption of technology in the language classroom.

Joe Yong-Yi Chan is a graduate student of the Foreign Languages & Literature Department at NCKU, Tainan, Taiwan. He received a B.A. from National Chengchi University in Taiwan. His research interests include e-learning, computer mediated communication, course management system, and blended language learning.

Gi-Zen Liu received his Ph.D. degree in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University Bloomington, U.S.A. He is Director of the Foreign Language Centre and Associate Professor of Foreign Languages & Literature Department at NCKU. Dr. Liu has received six research awards from the College of Liberal Arts at NCKU in 2007–2012 and another two from the National Science Council of Taiwan in 2012 and 2013, respectively. His research interests include instructional systems design, CALL, CMC, and blended learning.