Singapore – Dozens of freshmen at Singapore Management University spent Wednesday evening learning how to wiki—to use software that lets multiple people write and edit class projects online. Though many said mastering the software would be useful (they’re using the same platform that underpins Wikipedia), some were wary of the collaborative tool, with its public nature and the ability to toss out or revise the work of their classmates.
“It’s dangerous, actually,” said Liu Huan, one of the students, in an interview after the training session. “I can change everything that others have done.”
Why is that so bad? It puts students in the awkward position of having to publically correct a peer, which can cause them to lose face.
“It’s a very Asia context,” said the student sitting next to Ms. Huan, who said her full name is Arathi. “You have to be more aware of others and have a sensitivity to others.”
Jason Woodard, an assistant professor of information systems, who helped start the Wiki teaching project in 2007, had sensed that refrain from students before.
“People were very reluctant to edit things that other people had posted,” he said. “I guess out of deference. People were very careful to not want to edit their peers. Getting people out of that mind-set has been a real challenge.”
Other students privately expressed concern about putting unfinished work out on the Web for the world to see, as the assignment calls for them to do.
Yet most said they are glad the university is using new technology in teaching.
Several courses in the university’s School of Information Systems now use a wiki system for class projects, and this year officials offered optional nighttime training sessions so that professors would not have to devote precious class time to the nuances of the software. Students at the tech-enthusiastic institution are required to have laptops, and all attendees brought theirs (nearly half of them Macs, with a few small netbooks in the mix as well) so they could complete practice wiki entries (favorite recipes of the instructor).
Michael Netzley, an assistant professor of corporate communications practice, said he has also faced pushback when asking students to use social-media tools for class projects. Few students seemed to freely post to blogs or Twitter, electing instead to communicate using Facebook accounts with the privacy set so that only close friends could see them, he said.
“The students here seem to display a certain resistance or reluctance to actually adopting education 2.0 in a deeper or more meaningful fashion,” the professor said. They will benefit in the future if they learn how to tap the wisdom of the crowd, as many businesses are trying to do, he argued. “In a small country like Singapore, the traditional face-to-face network still reigns supreme. Members of a network are extremely loyal to that network, and if you are outside of it, a lot of times you aren’t even given the time of day.”
Tommy Tien Dehui, an upperclassman who used the wiki platform in past classes, disagreed. “I’m very comfortable putting things online,” he said, and he praised the experiment overall. He did admit, though, that editing other students’ work on the public forum took some getting used to—or, as he described his first impressions of it: “That was weird.”
5 Responses to Wiki Project Brings Some Student Wariness at Singapore Management U.
fcshofstra - September 1, 2010 at 4:15 pm
I’m extremely tired of Chronicle articles about how students or faculty fear this or that about technology. There are very few articles about technology actually causing any significant problem. Perhaps if the Chronicle stopped covering fear, it would stop spreading?
communicateasia - September 1, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Hi Jeff, thanks for the nice report from Singapore. As one of the participants in yesterday’s panel, I appreciate how you have captured the challenge we were discussing, that of reluctance on the students’ part to embrace these tools and engage one another. This has been a real struggle for the past 4 years, and I hope the other folks you interview can help share of insights and suggestions. I really do not see this as fear, but instead a very real cultural challenge as we blend traditional classroom delivery with technology. Some will embrace more quickly than others, but in SG those displaying reluctance, in my professional opinion, remain a sizable portion of the student body. Looking forward to the next report.
bghansel - September 2, 2010 at 9:36 am
I have worked with other groups (not just Asian) who have been reluctant to edit others on a Wiki, and even when I was responsible for maintaining a wiki, I tended to move sections that I thought were “off topic” rather than deleting them. But I am struck that the professor feels that the students would benefit from listening to “the wisdom of the crowd” — perhaps that is the wisdom they are hearing that tells them to be careful with their social relationships! Frankly, many avid wiki posters are interested in ensuring that their own views triumph. There is a lot to be said for waiting and listening as a way to tap the wisdom of the crowd.On the other hand, I do note the irony that my own individualist US culture allows me to post my thoughts here without worrying too much about saving the face of the article’s author or those quoted in the article.
jamesgpeck - September 2, 2010 at 10:35 am
How can I create an on-line wiki type course about technical subjects. They are usually highly controversial.
rgalsup - September 2, 2010 at 6:38 pm
As our classrooms become more diverse, our assumptions about technology and users of technology will have to change. In this case, culture is a factor that we must consider when determining how we use technology, what assignments to made, and how much of a foundation to build before starting to cover course content. I think far too many faculty members assume a homogenous group of students whose behavior and attitude toward technology is the same. I taught a course in Singapore many years ago. The class had students from the Singapore area, the United States, and Finland. Our intent was to have students use collaboration technologies to complete assignments. Success was always a function of how well we addressed cultural issues and less on the technology used. I had to learn this on my own. These articles not only reinforces what I learned on my own, it also provides insight for others, which reduces their learning curve, improves the quality and effectiveness of the course, and improves student learning. Thank you for sharing your observations.I do not see this as fear mongering.