Wikis...what's the point?

Until a couple of years ago, my only experience with a wiki was Wikipedia.  Funny thing is, I was always cautioned to stay away from Wikipedia.  It tends to get a bad reputation with regard to reliability and accuracy of information, which is understandable, seeing as how anyone can edit its pages.  You see, wikis provide a quick way for people or groups of people to share what they know about a topic. The members of this group can edit and add material to make the site better. It's basically a web page that a group shares.

While wikis can be a bit scary when students are searching for information, they are ideal for students to use when constructing information.  A great example of this is our very own advocacy wikis.  They afford group work even when the group cannot physically meet.  Wikis also allow you to edit the work of peers.  The history feature allows you to monitor the edits made by each group member too. 

The benefit of using wikis with students is best expressed by Will Richardson, "In using wikis, students are not only learning how to publish content; they are also learning how to develop and use all sorts of collaborative skills, negotiating with others to agree on correctness, meaning, relevance and more. In essence, students begin to teach each other."

Blogging About Blogs

Blogging.  I have to say I didn’t like writing them in the first semester and I would be lying if I said that I do now.   I am a firm believer in speaking up only when you have something to say that will benefit others.   In other words, I am not a “talk to hear your own voice” kind of person and I never was one for journaling, and that is what I feel like I am doing with a blog at this point.  Perhaps one day, when I have nothing else to do, blogging will become a passion of mine, but today is not that day. 

It’s not that I don’t see the value in blogging, especially in Education.  I simply don’t understand who has the time for it!  I barely have time to check out other people’s blogs and when I do, it is usually in search of a resource.  That being said, I do think that it is important to understand how to set-up and maintain a blog in the event that, one day, I do have loads of time on hands and something I’m just burning to share with the world.  But the real reason why I think it is important to understand blogging is for its possible integration in the classroom.  So, I will remain open-minded as I search for some realistic and engaging uses for blogging with fourth graders.

Better late than never?

As you might have guessed, blogging is not my favorite way to spend my time.  That said, stay tuned for some riveting posts about blogs and wikis to come!