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AU professor recognized for innovation in learning

Creation of a wiki to replace textbooks expands access to education
Dietmar 2018
Athabasca University chemistry professor Dr. Dietmar Kennepohl has been recognized for his innovation in education both nationally and internationally. Supplied
ATHABASCA – A professor at Athabasca University has been recognized for his innovation for developing an online resource for students to replace chemistry textbooks and allow for the continuous evolution of information. 

In an effort to make education more accessible, Dr. Deitmar Kennepohl came up with the idea to create a wiki — a wiki is a website that allows for collaborative editing of the content and structure by its users; a well-known example is Wikipedia. 

“I kind of did it because I want to kind of give my students a break on the costs,” Kennepohl said. “And I was a little bit selfish in the sense that, you know, every time there's a commercial textbook that comes out, they do different editions because what they try to do is try to stop the resale of textbooks.” 

Traditionally learning materials are built around the textbook, a method referred to as wraparound. Moving to a wiki allows for more flexibility in course building he noted. 

“I wanted to get away from that, because it's very difficult for us to do a whole wraparound every two or three years for a new textbook. The nature of the wiki is you've got professors and students writing and rewriting the material, so it's always improving,” he said. 

Kennepohl stated he has found the wiki to be a great learning vehicle for students because they have the opportunity to participate in their own textbook by correcting, adding to the content, or helping to explain the content. 

“Undergrads, they look at the textbook and they think, ‘Well, that's it, it's science, it's written down in a book and it stops right there. That's the word and that's what I’ve got to learn,’” Kennepohl said. “Doing it as a wiki it gives them this idea that ‘Oh, things are always changing, we're always learning more, there might be better ways of doing it, or different ways of doing it that, I could learn better.’ It kind of draws them in.” 

Kennepohl was nominated for both an international and national award for this innovation in learning. The most recent award was from the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education, a national award, which was handed out May 19. He won an international award for the same wiki from the Commonwealth of Learning in September. 

“You know, it's nice getting a one-time award for something, but to have different groups recognizing the value in it, having colleagues across Canada and around the world starting to recognize ‘Hey, you guys are doing something good’ makes me think it’s nice for Athabasca University to be recognized for the work we’ve been doing all along,” he said. 

AU’s mission is to break down barriers to post-secondary education and make it more accessible. They have a strong mandate of open access to education which frames how Kennepohl and his colleagues think about higher education, which results in innovation like chemistry wiki. 

”That sort of philosophy I think underpins a lot of what we do. It's just a real pleasure having spent my career with an organization like Athabasca University because it really aligns with what I believe in,” Kennepohl said.

Heather Stocking, TownandCountryToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @HLSox

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