The 2009 Conference wiki

For Learning in Law Annual Conference 2009 we used a wiki to support all aspects of the conference programme, part of our efforts to enhance UKCLE events and enable continuing engagement with the ideas and issues generated on the day. The wiki also sat well with our concern to cut down on the use of paper.

At a purely practical level the wiki was a comprehensive resource for participants, giving them all the information they needed to plan their time at the conference. It also gave them the opportunity to comment on papers before, during and after sessions, as well as allowing those unable to attend the chance to catch up with what they had missed!

Developing the wiki was a learning experience for all concerned, but with the enthusiastic co-operation of our speakers and session chairs we have been able to generate double the number of resources from the conference this year, with 30 of the presentations resulting in papers, slides or other additional material. These resources were incorporated into the papers when the wiki was closed, so none of this knowledge has been lost.

The wiki provided an extra dimension…it allows me to take a look back at ideas and discussions and make sure that the enthusiasm created during the conference doesn’t get lost in the drudgery of the everyday.

— Jess Guth, Reflecting on Learning in Law Annual Conference 2009

Advantages of using a conference wiki:

1. It helps us to capture the knowledge shared by participants more effectively. Learning in Law Annual Conference goes from strength to strength, but it is a once a year event attended by only a fraction of those interested in the ideas it generates.
2. It enables participants to get involved and network. Papers and reports from UKCLE events are added to this website, but more informal discussions and debates are unrecorded.
3. It facilitates a more community driven approach. We want to make it easier for the legal education community to participate in the creation and dissemination of knowledge.
4. It allows participants and presenters to try out some new tools with colleagues, and experience environments that are very familiar to students and are becoming ever more influential in approaches to learning and teaching.

Click the image to see a full size screenshot of the Learning in Law Annual Conference 2009 wiki.

The Learning in Law Annual Conference 2009 wiki made some steps towards achieving these goals:

• over half of the presenters uploaded their materials themselves
• interest in the wiki came both from overseas and from other disciplines, giving more impact and enabling useful links and connections to be made
• commenting functionality allowed informal exchanges
• presenters in the same parallel used the wiki to support collaborative working as they developed their individual presentations

…how powerful a tool a wiki is for sharing practice and theory. Learning in Law Annual Conference has for the first time used a wiki for its conference site, and it’s worked very well.

— Paul Maharg, Learning in Law Annual Conference 2009: using wikis in legal education

Before, during and after…

The wiki’s lifespan extended beyond the conference itself:

• before the conference – all presenters had their own page and were invited to add to and edit it – over half our presenters took up this opportunity – and all participants (as well as interested spectators) – were invited to view the abstracts and comment on them
• during the conference –
  • participants were only provided with hard copies of the programme, a delegate list and the evaluation form, but we compiled a ‘virtual pack’ including copies of (where available) or links to other resources on display or distributed at the conference
  • session reports and links to blog posts were added to the wiki as they become available,and presenters and participants were encouraged to post feedback and kick off discussions
• after the conference – session reports and resources added as received, with the wiki kept live for feedback and comment until the end of March 2009, when all substantive content was moved to the Learning in Law Annual Conference archive

Last Modified: 9 July 2010