Creating a group Wiki was more fun for me than contributing to a discussion forum in a LMS. Being able to focus on one document rather than reading multiple postings made this task easy and enjoyable.
Advantages
I believe that using wikis for collaboration can be gratifying for students. I enjoyed watching the wiki grow and develop and quite quickly at that! I also appreciated being able to check in and add to the wiki at any time as opposed to trying to collaborate synchronously using Skype or live chat. Live chats also tend to put people on the spot. For those who may need some extra time to think about ideas and then respond, I think chats can be intimidating. I also think the final product that was created was much better than what could have been produced in the same time frame using another form of communication. Scheduling a time for a live meeting would have limited contributions and using the wiki helped to organize and track activities.
Challenges
I thought it would have been harder to reach a consensus but the group wiki developed quickly. I am unsure if everyone felt comfortable participating. I think a synchronous group meeting would help ensure that everyone is heard from. I am also aware that a few students took the lead in putting together the final 5 Strategies and 5 Challenges but this is normal in any group activity.
I think that group collaborations involving a combination of wiki work and synchronous chat sessions would likely provide the richest learning experience for students.
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