Hi again,
I have been exploring wikis this week, and have even set one up. The following link will take you to my wiki, however you should note that it is a working progress. http://manage-elearning.wikispaces.com/
A wiki is different to a blog. A blog is created by the user and other people are able to post comments in response to the blogger. The creater of the blog has the option of deleting and even blocking posts from other people. Also, no one else is able to edit their blogspace.
A wiki on the other hand, while created by the user, can be edited by any and every one that chooses to do so.
I have included to following link to a youtube clip in my wiki (embedding has been disabled). This clip demonstrates how, as a result of unvalidated input from anyone, can result in mixed and incorrect facts, as well as going completely off topic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaADQTeZRCY
I have already discussed the use of blogs in a teaching context and maintain that if properly monitered and implemented, a blogspace can be very useful. Included in our Uni course was a link to a website '50 ways to use wikis'. http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/50-ways-to-use-wikis-for-a-more-collaborative-and-interactive-classroom/
Even though I have reviewed this website, I remain unconvinced about using a wiki in a teaching context. I concede that there are some good ideas that may be applicable to group work, however there would need to be extra measures to ensure that all group members are contributing equally and fairly. As mentioned earlier, anyone can edit a wiki. As I am not entirely confident in my use of wikis, I would need to look into whether or not there is a way to see who has edited the page. This is for two reasons: to ensure everyone is contributing equally and fairly; and to ensure no one from another group is interferring with the wiki.
Also, many of the ideas listed in '50 ways to use wikis' can be easily applied to a blogspace created by the teacher for classroom use.
Hopefully this has been a useful comparison between wikis and blogs, and has opened up some new lines of thought in classroom practices.
Renee, consider using thinking scaffolds in a wiki - decision-making processes, PMI, SWOT analysis, de Bono's Hats. Browse through our growing wiki on mobile phone use - are there ideas there you may not have thought of? If you were a student, would you have your ideas shifted or challenged by this wiki? A wiki is only as useful as your teaching strategies and scaffolding. But then, the text-based communication, permanency, and capacity to continually edit and refin makes it a very sound tool for collaborative work. What is your teaching context? Could you contextualise your discussion?
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