Technology and collaborative writing

Have you heard about Wiki? If no, let's watch this:

In a second language writing class, peer response and teacher correction have been main forms of feedback until the integration of technology in writing classes are welcomed. By the introduction of communication technologies in our lives, the concept of collaboration in writing classes has changed from a peer (an author) being a passive recipient of the peer response to a reconstructor who is constantly in active collaboration with others for the formation of a text. In a sociocultural perspective,  knowledge is created and re-created in the discourse of learning how to write through collaboration. Thus, a learner can make meaning of “own understanding through the constructive efforts while collaborating with the others. One of the tools that enables learners to create, transform, and edit their work with a certain accountability is Wiki, which allows teachers to facilitate and monitor the collaborative activities by checking what changes are made, by whom, when and how often they are made. Collaboration by the use of Wiki might help improvement of language accuracy (Lee, 2010). Students may benefit from the collaboration with peers, not by creating more content per each edit, but by revisiting the content already formed. As for the content, after revisions and peer feedback, students can maintain an organized flow with a certain structure. In conclusion,  Wiki can create learners' engagement and collaboration through meaningful tasks such as problem solving, making decisions, editing and so forth.

Reference: 

Lee, L. (2010). Exploring wiki-media collaborative writing: A Case Study in an Elementary Spanish Course. CALICO Journal, 27(2), 260-276. Retrieved from http://www.calico.org/