Effectiveness of a Framed Wiki-Based Learning Activity in the Context of HCI Education

In this paper, the effectiveness of a framed wiki-based learning activity is investigated. A one-group pretest -- posttest study was conducted towards this aim. The study involved 36 first year university students of a Greek Education Department using wikis to learn basic aspects and implications of usability evaluation in the frame of a first year course entitled "Introduction to Web Science". Analysis of the results showed significant improvement in learning outcomes, in particular for students with low initial performance. The average students' questionnaire score jumped from 35.2% to 54.0%. In addition, a positive attitude towards using wikis in their project was expressed by the students. The design of the activity, the context of the study as well as the results obtained are discussed in detail.