Wikis: Do they need usability engineering?

Today, Web 2.0 is one of the most used buzzwords for a conglomerate of technologies within the e-learning community. However, these are a new arrangement of standard technologies, the applications of which are primarily motivated by the slogan “the user is the content”. But are Wikis, Blogs, Podcasting etc. actually the great promise for the learning future? Studies and research work in this aera are still too rare for empirical evidence to substantiate these theories. In this paper we present the use of a Wiki system within a particular setting in Higher Education. Based on the model of Atkinson, we determined the influence of possible variables on this type of system. On the basis of two empirical studies, we are able to conclude that both lack of motivation and lack of usability are the main reasons why learners show so little enthusiasm for using wiki systems, thereby confirming the continued validity of the Atkinson’s model. Summarizing, we consider that the ease-of-use aspect is going to be the crucial factor of the Web 2.0