An Empirical Study on Faculty Perceptions and Teaching Practices of Wikipedia

Abstract

Some faculty members from different universities around the world have begun to use Wikipedia as a teaching tool in recent years. These experiences show, in most cases, very satisfactory results and a substantial improvement in various basic skills, as well as a positive influence on the students' motivation. Nevertheless and despite the growing importance of e-learning methodologies based on the use of the Internet for higher education, the use of Wikipedia as a teaching resource remains scarce among university faculty. Our investigation tries to identify which are the main factors that determine acceptance or resistance to that use. We approach the decision to use Wikipedia as a teaching tool by analyzing both the individual attributes of faculty members and the characteristics of the environment where they develop their teaching activity. From a specific survey sent to all faculty of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), pioneer and leader in online education in Spain, we have tried to infer the influence of these internal and external elements. The questionnaire was designed to measure different constructs: perceived quality of Wikipedia, teaching practices involving Wikipedia, use experience, perceived usefulness and use of 2.0 tools. Control items were also included for gathering information on gender, age, teaching experience, academic rank, and area of expertise. Our results reveal that academic rank, teaching experience, age or gender, are not decisive factors in explaining the educational use of Wikipedia. Instead, the decision to use it is closely linked to the perception of Wikipedia's quality, the use of other collaborative learning tools, an active attitude towards web 2.0 applications, and connections with the professional non-academic world. Situational context is also very important, since the use is higher when faculty members have got reference models in their close environment and when they perceive it is positively valued by their colleagues. As far as these attitudes, practices and cultural norms diverge in different scientific disciplines, we have also detected clear differences in the use of Wikipedia among areas of academic expertise. As a consequence, a greater application of Wikipedia both as a teaching resource and as a driver for teaching innovation would require much more active institutional policies and some changes in the dominant academic culture among faculty members.

Alguns professors de diferents universitats de tot el món han començat a usar Wikipedia com a eina d'ensenyament en els últims anys. Aquestes experiències mostren, en la majoria dels casos, resultats molt satisfactoris i una millora substancial en diverses competències bàsiques, així com una influència positiva en la motivació dels estudiants. No obstant això, i malgrat la creixent importància de les metodologies d'aprenentatge basades en l'ús d'Internet per a l'educació superior, l'ús de Wikipedia com a recurs didàctic segueix sent escàs entre el professorat universitari. La nostra recerca tracta d'identificar quins són els principals factors que determinen l'acceptació o resistència a l'ús d'aquesta eina.

Algunos profesores de diferentes universidades de todo el mundo han comenzado a usar Wikipedia como herramienta de enseñanza en los últimos años. Estas experiencias muestran, en la mayoría de los casos, resultados muy satisfactorios y una mejora sustancial en varias competencias básicas, así como una influencia positiva en la motivación de los estudiantes. Sin embargo, ya pesar de la creciente importancia de las metodologías de aprendizaje basadas en el uso de Internet para la educación superior, el uso de Wikipedia como recurso didáctico sigue siendo escaso entre el profesorado universitario. Nuestra investigación trata de identificar cuáles son los principales factores que determinan la aceptación o resistencia al uso de esta herramienta.