I wrote a number of posts covering how to set up a blog (using three of the most common (free) services out there). From the standpoint of being a teacher, I decided to continue with this method…into the world of Wikis. First off, I need to come up with a modern, valid definition of what a Wiki is (especially when compared to a blog…).
There are actually two determiners of whether a site is a Wiki versus a blog. First off, a blog has ordered posts (usually in some sort of a chronological manner…) where a Wiki could do this; it isn’t really a major focus. Secondly, Wikis are much better suited for collaborative work (it’s one of their prime features…).
I have seen people create Wikis on blogging platforms (on WordPress.com and on Blogger…), and I suppose there are some people out there who have what could be considered blogs created on Wiki platforms (OK, I ‘m guessing here…). My point is that there is a lot of overlap between these two sorts of websites.
So, if you want a site where you can create a put up content in an ordered, chronological, almost episodic manner…a blog would be a good fit, on the other hand, if you want a site where you can collaborate on a wide variety of articles and documents, etc. a Wiki may be best. You might be able to find some more comprehensive definitions out there, but this is the core of what you need to know.
Now, with this newfound clarity about what the thrust of these formats give you, we could delve into creating a Wiki. I should take a few steps back here… there are literally hundreds of YouTube videos, and websites out there which proselytize Wikis, how to use them in a classroom environment, give you lots of examples of schools and teachers who use them. Here is my problem, I have seen a lot of teacher (and student) driven blogs and Wikis on the last several years but I have also seen many of these sites withering and dying from lack of use. A good example of this might be a blog written by some teacher which only has about three posts (usually from mi-September of last year…). The same thing goes for Wikis. I think that there has been a lot of push toward ‘modern technology’ (read: computers/internet) as some sort of a magic pill for all of the problems that any teacher might be confronted with. This ‘panacea’ method of selling the idea of using these sorts of sites in a classroom has (quite unfortunately!) burned hundreds and hundreds of teachers.
Nonetheless, there is still validity in using these sorts of presentations…
Regardless of how simple it may be to set up a blog or a Wiki, they do take a bit of discipline to maintain. Wikis are great for focused classroom projects, and a teachers blog can also be of value for students (and their parents)…if they are kept up! As an answer to a lot of the ‘Wiki fallout’ survivors out there, the real reason in trying to make this as simple as possible is to make it as easy as possible to keep it going. That’s it; there are no other ‘tricks’.
I should also mention that since the internet (and a lot of related technology) is rapidly becoming the present (versus the future), most teachers, especially teachers who specialize in areas where writing and reading are very important… English and social studies come to mind here, should be developing more skills.
So, with this said, I will be creating three separate Wikis from three prominent sites (all free…). When I get this into place I will provide a review and a chance for you to look over the differences between them. As far as my review goes, I will be considering how well typical student created content can be integrated into the Wiki, how good it looks (this is a big selling point to parents, quite obviously!), and how easy it is to maintain (as well as to create in the first place…).
Finally, I will be writing about how easy it is to connect a blog and a Wiki for the same class. Since these websites are so easy to set up, why should you have to make an either/or decision?
