The Use of Wiki and Google Drive in a Public School

The Use of Wiki and Google Drive in a Public School

First Author’s Name: Ghada Awada

Author’s Institution: American University of Beirut

Email: ghadawada@gmail.com

American University of Beirut

P.O.Box 11-0236

Beirut Lebanon

Fisk Hall, Room 109

Tel. 961 1 350000, Ext. 2072

Second Author’s Name: Abir Abdullah

Author’s Institution: Lebanese University

Email: abirabdallah@gmail.com

Lebanese University

Faculty of Sciences

Beirut Lebanon

Tel. 9615470932

The Use of Wiki and Google Drive in a Public School

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the effectiveness of wiki tool and Google Drive in enhancing the learning, collaboration and writing and research skills of the twelfth graders of a public school in Lebanon. The subjects of the study are one English as a 

Foreign Language EFL group (n=17) whose ages range from 16 to 19 years old. The study also examines if the motivation towards group work and projects is increased after using the wiki tool and Google Drive. The data are collected by means of two questionnaires and one rubric, the subjects’ projects, and Google Drive surveys. The findings of the study conveyed that the subjects revealed great motivation towards group work and projects upon using the wiki tool and Google Drive. The researchers' recommendations are mainly urging the teachers of all levels to use the wiki tool and Google Drive as vital tools requested to enhance students’ motivation and to better their study and collaboration skills. The wiki project aims at enhancing students’ and teacher’s involvement in collaborative online content creation with special emphasis on developing autonomous study skills. The findings have proved that the structure of the wiki space allows for a work-in-progress approach to language learning, and the Google Drive helps students enjoy the feasibility of conducting questionnaires and efficiently and quickly obtain the data required for the analysis of their project's findings. As such, in alignment with the study findings, the employment of the wiki tool and Google Drive by university instructors and faculty might level up students' motivation, promote interaction, demonstrate collaborative autonomous language learning, and boost research skills. Pedagogical implications are discussed and recommendations for further research are suggested.

Key words: English as a foreign language (EFL) , wiki , Google Drive, collaboration, research skills