Same platform, different outcomes: explaining divergent trajectories of a student-led medical wiki across languages

Martin Vejražka, Čestmír Štuka, Jenda Štěch*, Sofia Filonová, Bára Kapustová

Charles University, First Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

*Charles University, Second Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

Background

WikiSkripta is a long-standing Czech-language, student-led wiki supporting medical education. For more than 15 years, it has been widely used by medical students, generating approximately 19 million visits annually. The platform is maintained by an active student community under faculty supervision. In parallel, an English-language version (WikiLectures) was developed using the same platform and educational philosophy. Despite this similarity, WikiLectures has never achieved comparable levels of engagement or long-term sustainability over time. This contrast offers an opportunity to explore how language, community and social factors shape the evolution of peer-learning platforms.

Summary of work

We conducted a mixed-methods exploratory comparison of the two platforms. Quantitative indicators of activity (number and type of contributions, edits and images) were extracted from system logs covering 2008–2025. Qualitative data included longitudinal SWOT analyses, unstructured interviews, and 20 semi-structured interviews with student contributors and faculty mentors. Qualitative data were analysed thematically to identify drivers and barriers to engagement.

Summary of results

The developmental trajectories of the two platforms differed markedly. WikiSkripta demonstrates long-term community-driven growth, with only a moderate slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, WikiLectures experienced only short growth periods driven by external incentives, without developing stable community dynamics. Patterns of contribution also differed substantially. WikiSkripta students contributed not only content but also actively built and maintained the platform’s infrastructure, whereas such engagement was largely absent from WikiLectures. Qualitative analyses highlighted major differences in community ownership, ease of participation in the native language and the role of the platform in exam preparation. WikiSkripta is embedded in a dense network of social relationships, while WikiLectures lacks a comparable peer community.

Discussion & conclusion

WikiSkripta functions as a peer-learning environment supporting extracurricular study and the development of self-directed learners through sustained student ownership. Replicating the same platform in English did not lead to comparable outcomes. Our findings suggest that the impact of community-based educational platforms is shaped less by technical infrastructure and more by social cohesion, identification with the community and intrinsic motivation.

Take-home message(s)

Sustainable student-led platforms require social embedding, not merely a technical replication.

Remarks