Student perception of a wiki in a pharmacy elective course

Abstract 

Objective

Third professional year pharmacy students enrolled in an elective on landmark trials were surveyed to describe student and course facilitator experiences with using a wiki, student satisfaction with wiki collaboration, and to evaluate whether level of involvement on a wiki was associated with student-reported performance or satisfaction. Course facilitators were also surveyed.

Method

Pre- and post-surveys were used to evaluate experiences and satisfaction with wiki collaboration. Level of involvement was compared with student-reported course performance and wiki satisfaction. An e-mail survey with open-ended questions was sent to course facilitators asking them to describe their experience with a wiki. Statistical analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and use of the Kruskal-Wallis test (a priori α < 0.05).

Results

Based on responses from the pre-survey, 50% (14/28) of the students had previously accessed a wiki; none reported previously collaborating in a wiki. On the post-survey, the overall satisfaction with collaborating on the course wiki was neutral. A majority of students (63%) highly recommended or recommended using a wiki in future landmark trial classes. No difference between student level of involvement and student-reported final grade (p = 0.5) or level of satisfaction (p = 0.2) were noted. Course facilitators favored using a wiki because it accommodated an increase in class size and provided another way to engage students.

Conclusion

Students that collaborated in the course wiki, and course facilitators, had positive attitudes toward the use of a wiki. Students also felt that the course wiki provided further clarification and knowledge about course content.

Keywords: Wiki, Collaboration, Web 2.0, Millennial generation, Pharmacy education