SOCHE/GCCCU Higher Education Conference

February 5, 2008

Pedagogical Uses of

Wikis and Blogs

blogs and wikis use in education benefits challenges getting started

Pedagogical Uses of

Wikis and Blogs

• encourages student-faculty interaction

• encourages cooperation among students

• encourages active learning

• gives prompt feedback

• emphasizes time on task

• communicates high expectations

• respect diverse talents and ways of learning

7principles of good practice in undergraduate education

Good Practice

March 1987 AAHE Bulletin, Chickering and Gamson

“Any given instructional strategy can be supported by a number of contrasting technologies (old and new), just as any given technology might support different instructional strategies. But for any given instructional strategy, some technologies are better than others: Better to turn a screw with a screwdriver than a hammer — a dime may also do the trick, but a screwdriver is usually better.”

Arthur W. Chickering and Stephen C. EhrmannIMPLEMENTING THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES: Technology as Lever

7principles of good practice in undergraduate education

Good Practice

March 1987 AAHE Bulletin, Chickering and Gamson

Blogs

• online journal or weblog

• posts displayed in reverse chronological order

• users can‣ easily post new entries‣ comment on entries‣ include media and

external links‣ archive and search

previous posts

What’s a Blog?

Blogs

‣ personal diaries

‣ editorials/commentary

‣ news and information

‣ group and individual

Who’s Blogging?

Blogs

‣ teacher posts‣ student responses‣ student posts‣ class v. individual blogs‣ assigned v. informal

writing‣ class blog as internet

and media hub

Blogs in Class

Blogs‣ Blogs can promote critical

and analytical thinking.‣ Blogging can be a powerful

promoter of creative, intuitive, and associational thinking.

‣ Blogs promote analogical thinking.

‣ Blogs increase access to quality information

‣ Blogging combines the best of solitary reflection and social interaction.

Pedagogical Benefits

Fernette Eide M.D. and Brock Eide M.D. M.A.http://www.eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/

Blogs‣ available anytime and almost

anywhere; more time on task

‣ active learning; encourage participation; investment in the course

‣ build community; promote interaction

‣ develop expertise through writing and debate

‣ encounter diverse perspectives

‣ repository for class material/media

Pedagogical Benefits

Blogs

‣ IT support?‣ too many choices/features

‣ keep the writing on task and substantive

‣ maintain decorum‣ assessment

Pedagogical Challenges

Blogs Create Your Own

free hosting sites

or download the software yourself

Wikis

• collaborative authoring• users can

‣ create, edit and delete pages

‣ user friendly markup language

‣ easily link one page to another

‣ comment on text

‣ review the history of changes

What’s a Wiki?

Wikis

‣ content management system

‣ open encyclopedia

‣ collaborative workspace

‣ information source

Who’s Using a Wiki?

Wikis Wikis in Class

‣ repository for class information and hub for class activity

‣ collaborative group projects

‣ writing and revision assignments

‣ creating a class text‣ student portfolios‣ collaboration among

faculty

Wikis‣ available anytime and

almost anywhere; more time on task

‣ active learning; encourage participation; investment in the course

‣ build community; promote interaction

‣ develop expertise through writing and debate

‣ encounter diverse perspectives

‣ repository for class material/media

Pedagogical Benefits

Wikis

‣ emphasis on collaboration and cooperation

‣ more complex peer working relationships requiring negotiation

‣ greater emphasis on revision process

‣ emphasis on associations and conceptual relationships

Pedagogical Benefits

Wikis

‣ IT support?‣ too many choices/features

‣ vandalism‣ loss of control‣ process of peer revision‣ assessment

Pedagogical Challenges

Wikis Create Your Own

‣ character of posts‣ collaboration and

interaction‣ organization‣ navigation‣ user friendly

Blogs v. Wikis

‣ character of posts‣ collaboration and

interaction‣ organization‣ navigation‣ user friendly

➡Blog posts tend to be more personal and reflective; they are static and aimed at more immediate availability.

➡Wiki entries tend to be less personal, more informational; they are dynamic but aimed at long-term availability.

‣ character of posts‣ collaboration and

interaction‣ organization‣ navigation‣ user friendly

➡Blog posts tend to be more personal and reflective; they are static and aimed at more immediate availability.

➡Wiki entries tend to be less personal, more informational; they are dynamic but aimed at long-term availability.

‣ character of posts

‣ collaboration and interaction

‣ organization‣ navigation‣ user friendly

➡Blog posts tend to be individual efforts, though there may be opportunities for comment and discussion; build community through shared interests emphasis on generation of a product.

➡Wiki entries tend to be highly collaborative and cooperative endeavors; build community through shared effort; focus on the revision process.

‣ character of posts

‣ collaboration and interaction

‣ organization‣ navigation‣ user friendly

➡Blog posts tend to be individual efforts, though there may be opportunities for comment and discussion; build community through shared interests emphasis on generation of a product.

➡Wiki entries tend to be highly collaborative and cooperative endeavors; build community through shared effort; focus on the revision process.

‣ character of posts‣ collaboration and

interaction

‣ organization‣ navigation‣ user friendly

➡Blogs are organized chronologically, with an emphasis on external connections. Blogs provide a publication space.

➡Wikis present a web-like structure, a more spatial layout, with an emphasis on both internal and external connections. Wikis provide a work space.

‣ character of posts‣ collaboration and

interaction

‣ organization‣ navigation‣ user friendly

➡Blogs are organized chronologically, with an emphasis on external connections. Blogs provide a publication space.

➡Wikis present a web-like structure, a more spatial layout, with an emphasis on both internal and external connections. Wikis provide a work space.

‣ character of posts‣ collaboration and

interaction‣ organization

‣ navigation‣ user friendly

➡Blogs lend themselves to more lineal or chronological order and navigation; the starting point is now.

➡Wikis lend themselves to semantic navigation based on relationships between pages; there is no starting point.

‣ character of posts‣ collaboration and

interaction‣ organization

‣ navigation‣ user friendly

➡Blogs lend themselves to more lineal or chronological order and navigation; the starting point is now.

➡Wikis lend themselves to semantic navigation based on relationships between pages; there is no starting point.

‣ character of posts‣ collaboration and

interaction‣ organization‣ navigation

‣ user friendly

➡Blogs tend to provide a formatting menu bar; no html or special markup language required; creating new posts is easy.

➡Wikis also provide a formatting menu bar, but typically use a simple markup language; no html required; page creation, revision and deletion are easy.

‣ character of posts‣ collaboration and

interaction‣ organization‣ navigation

‣ user friendly

➡Blogs tend to provide a formatting menu bar; no html or special markup language required; creating new posts is easy.

➡Wikis also provide a formatting menu bar, but typically use a simple markup language; no html required; page creation, revision and deletion are easy.

Contact me with questions at garns@nku.edu This slideshow and links to additional resources

will be available at

Pedagogical Uses of

Wikis and Blogs

http://www.rudygarns.com/POD/doku.php?id=soche2008

Thank You