Visualizing wiki-supported knowledge building: co-evolution of individual and collective knowledge

ABSTRACT

It is widely accepted that wikis are valuable tools for successful collaborative knowledge building. In this paper, we describe how processes of knowledge building with wikis may be visualized, citing Wikipedia as an example. The underlying theoretical basis of our paper is the framework for collaborative knowledge building with wikis, as introduced by Cress and Kimmerle [2], [3], [4]. This model describes collaborative knowledge building as a co-evolution of individual and collective knowledge, or of cognitive and social systems respectively. These co-evolutionary processes may be visualized graphically, applying methods from social network analysis, especially those methods that take dynamic changes into account [5], [18]. For this purpose, we have undertaken to analyze, on the one hand, the temporal development of an article in the German version of Wikipedia and related articles that are linked to this core article. On the other hand, we analyzed the temporal development of those users who worked on these articles. The resulting graphics show an analogous process, both with regard to the articles that refer to the core article and to the users involved. These results provide empirical support for the co-evolution model. Some implications of our findings and the potential for future research on collaborative knowledge building with wikis and on the application of social network analysis are discussed at the end of the article.

References

1. Brandes, U. and Lerner, J. 2008. Visual analysis of controversy in user-generated encyclopedias. Information Visualization 7, 34--48.
2. Cress, U. and Kimmerle, J. 2007. A theoretical framework of collaborative knowledge building with wikis -- a systemic and cognitive perspective. In Proceedings of the 7th Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Conference, C. A. Chinn, G. Erkens, and S. Puntambekar, Eds. International Society of the Learning Sciences, New Brunswick, NJ, 153--161.
3. Cress, U. and Kimmerle, J. 2008. A systemic and cognitive view on collaborative knowledge building with wikis. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning 3, 105--122.
4. Cress, U., Kimmerle, J, Held, C., and Hesse, F. W. in press. Social software and knowledge building: Supporting co-evolution of individual and collective knowledge. In Designs for Learning Environments of the Future: International Learning Sciences Theory and Research Perspectives, M. J. Jacobson, Ed. Springer, Berlin.
5. de Nooy, W., Mrvar, A., and Batagelj, V. 2005. Exploratory Social Network Analysis with Pajek, Cambridge, University Press.
6. Forte, A. and Bruckman, A. 2007. Constructing text: Wikis as a toolkit for (collaborative?) learning. In Proceedings of the WikiSymposium 2007.
7. Harrer, A., Zeini, S., Ziebarth, S., and Münter, D. 2007. Visualisation of the dynamics of computer-mediated community networks, Paper presented at International Sunbelt Social Network Conference 2007.
8. Hewitt, J. and Scardamalia, M. 1998. Design principles for distributed knowledge building processes. Educational Psychology Review 10, 75--96.
9. Krempel, L. 2005. Visualisierung komplexer Strukturen. Grundlagen der Darstellung mehrdimensionaler Netzwerke, Frankfurt a. M., Campus.
10. Moreno, J. L. 1951. Sociometry, experimental method and the science of society. An approach to a new political orientation. Beacon House, Beacon, NY.
11. Moskaliuk. J., Kimmerle. J., and Cress. U. in press. Learning and knowledge building with wikis: The impact of incongruity between people's knowledge and a wiki's information. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference of the Learning Sciences.
12. Peters, V. L. and Slotta, J. D. 2007. Using wikis to create pedagogical scripts for knowledge communities. In Proceedings of the WikiSymposium 2007.
13. Scardamalia, M. 2002. Collective cognitive responsibility for the advancement of knowledge. In Liberal Education in a Knowledge Society, B. Smith, Ed. Open Court, Chicago, IL, 67--98.
14. Scardamalia, M. and Bereiter, C. 1996. Computer support for knowledge-building communities. In CSCL: Theory and Practice of an Emerging Paradigm, T. Koschmann, Ed. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 249--268.
15. Scardamalia, M. and Bereiter, C. 1999. Schools as knowledge building organizations. In Today's Children, Tomorrow's Society: The Developmental Health and Wealth of Nations, D. Keating, and C. Hertzman, Eds. Guilford, New York, NY, 274--289.
16. Scardamalia, M. and Bereiter, C. 2003. Knowledge building. In Encyclopedia of Education, Macmillan Reference, New York, NY, 1370--1373.
17. Stahl, G. 2000. A model of collaborative knowledge-building. In Fourth International Conference of the Learning Sciences, B. Fishman, and S. O'Connor-Divelbiss, Eds. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, 70--77.
18. Trier, M. 2005. IT-supported visualization of knowledge community structures. In Proceedings of the 38th IEEE Hawaii International Conference of Systems Sciences HICCS38, Hawaii, USA, Jan 2005.
19. Viégas, F. B., Wattenberg, M., Kriss. J., and van Ham, F. 2007. Talk before you type: Coordination in Wikipedia. In Proceedings of the 40th IEEE Hawaii International Conference of Systems Sciences HICCS40, Hawaii, USA, Jan 2007.
20. Viégas, F. B., Wattenberg, M., and McKeon, M. 2007. The hidden order of Wikipedia. In Proceedings of the HCI International Conference, Beijing, China, July 2007.
21. Wassermann, S. and Faust, K. 1994. Social Network Analysis: Methods and Application, Cambridge, University Press.

Index Terms

• Applied computing

  • Education

    • Collaborative learning

• Human-centered computing

  • Collaborative and social computing

  • Human computer interaction (HCI)

    • Interaction paradigms

      • Web-based interaction