About this project

This website journals the activities of the project "Web 2.0 authoring tools in higher education learning and teaching: New directions for assessment and academic integrity", funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council.

This collaborative project involved a team of 7 researchers from the University of Melbourne, Monash University, and RMIT. The project examined how lecturers assess students' Web 2.0 activities in higher education. In university learning and teaching there is growing encouragement for students to use so-called Web 2.0 forms of authoring or content creation, also known as social software - e.g., blogging/microblogging, audio/video podcasting, social bookmarking, social networking, virtual world activities, and wiki writing. In a Web 2.0 environment users can easily publish and share their work, connect with an extended community, and comment on other users' contributions. Commentators have offered numerous pedagogical rationales for using Web 2.0 in higher education. However, little attention had been given to issues relating to the assessment of students' social web activities - and the unique challenges that this form of assessment may create for academic integrity, standards, and assessment practices.

This project aimed to address this gap by developing resources to support good academic practice in the assessment of students' Web 2.0 activities. Between 2009 and 2011, the project:
  • Conducted a survey and interviews with Australian academics examining their experiences of using Web 2.0 technologies in assessment.
  • Convened a national roundtable, involving 30 academics with expertise in student learning, assessment, e-learning, and/or the use of social web technologies in university teaching, who came together to share experiences and ideas and provide multiple perspectives on the issues.
  • Devloped a draft framework of good practice in the assessment of student Web 2.0 activities.
  • Conducted 17 case studies to elicit in-depth information and examples of academic practices involving the assessment of student Web 2.0 authoring in diverse teaching and learning settings, and involving different kinds of social web activities.
  • Held focus group discussions with both students and staff about their experiences of using social web technologies in university teaching and learning.





Support for this project has been provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Ltd, an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The views expressed on this website do not necessariy reflect the views of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council.