Overview of telecollaboration tools and affordances

In TILA we have chosen to work with user-friendly and safe tools that allow pupils to engage in intercultural communication. On the one hand we propose asynchronous tools (discussion forum, wiki), on the other we propose synchronous tools (text chat, videocommunication, 3D virtual world). Almost all of them are accessible through our learning environment, the Moodle platform.

Each tool offers its own advantages and challenges. For a quick overview of the affordances of each tool, see below, or click in the alphabet above. For more specific information about each tool, please refer to the different submenus of the ‘Telecollaboration Tasks and Tools’ section on the website.



Browse the glossary using this index

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W

Wiki

Tools

Affordances

  • Freely expandable collection of interlinked webpages
  • Every participant can write and edit text, create weblinks or embed pictures
  • A ‘history’ function allows tracking all the editing steps

Useful for

  • Writing tasks where students collaboratively work on a specific topic, story or problem
  • Creating a multimedia collage (text, pictures, captions, embedded video or music files)
  • Track and document steps for a group project
  • Students collaboratively write a wiki with individual students responsible for separate parts (peer writing and editing)
  • Help and guidance: teachers can write comments in their students’ wiki

Challenges

  • A Moodle wiki can only be edited by one person at the time. When someone from your group is using the edit mode of the wiki, you will get a corresponding message, when you click on Edit.
  • Delay in time => set deadlines

 

 Watch the following demo video about wikis in Moodle