Wikis and blogs are some of the most basic Web 2.0 options that teachers will be attracted to. The question is, which one should I use? I was working with another teacher who is jumping into the world of Web 2.0 for his courses, and we worked on the issue.
I don’t like to reinvent the wheel, and I found a really good PowerPoint explanation of when you should use a wiki and when you should use a blog. This is a really good PowerPoint created by Jacki Weikert.
What I got from this is that at the core of the software, blogs are for 1 person to explain something and wikis are for multiple people to explain something. There is quite a bit more to the puzzle than that, but after taking a step back that is where I am looking at it from.
What Does This Mean?
Well, I don’t care which one you choose to use in your classroom, blog or wiki. I think of them like having pizza and a burger. Both are great, but you would eat the pizza with at least one other person (usually) and a burger is more of a single person event. Not the best analogy, but I try.
But you almost have to have one or the other to making your classroom more appropriate for students today. They are simple steps to the process of starting a wiki and blog with many examples out there to get you going on using them in the classroom. Give it a shot.
Delightful, Jacki! I have been attempting to explain this difference to my colleagyes for over a year, but I have never been able to say it this simply and clearly. I absolutely love the burger/pizza analogy. Thanks so much. I hope you don’t mind if I borrow it.
Very nice, I like your burger/pizza analogy! Both will enhance the classroom, they just have slightly different purposes and authors.
When I first started out, I felt like I had a good handle of blogs and did not need to learn about wikis. I am glad that I overcame that thought since both blogs and wikis can serve different purposes. I like your comparison of them with burgers and pizza.
Hey, the burger and pizza analogy, I think, is right on (although I know of people who can finish an entire pizza without anyone else’s help … but I digress).
I think both can enhance a classroom. They’re both tools. And, bottom line is, it’s not the tool that matters more–it’s how you use it.