Promoting pedagogical experimentation: using a wiki in graduate level education

Learning to write in a scholarly manner is often a challenge for graduate students. This study describes nursing students' use of a wiki to encourage writing collaboration among students by allowing them to cocreate, review, and edit each other's material as it is created. Students are introduced to the online wiki site the first week of the course. A technology representative assists students with a short introduction and class visits. All students participate in making decisions related to the overall character of the site. They create pages on topics related to their clinical placements. Student pages are peer and content expert reviewed for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Students include pictures, YouTube links, attachments, videos, and Web site links into their pages. Evidence-based content includes pharmacology, diagnostic criteria, pathophysiology, history, genetics, and references. Students present their pages, and feedback questionnaires are collected at the end of the semester. The wiki writing assignment introduces students, faculty, and the community to graduate student projects while exposing students to new technology. Areas explored include issues and best practices regarding classroom pedagogy, as well as student support and technical challenges in the use of a wiki. Suggestions for improvement are discussed.