CARISSA TOMLINSON, MLISEMERGING TECHNOLOGIES LIBRARIAN
Wikis and Blogs in Education
Agenda
IntroductionsBlogs vs. WikisWikis and Blogs in the classroom
Lots of examples Some problems to watch out for
Things to consider Which wiki / blog software?
Hands on with WetPaint wikis
Blogs and Wikis
Both allow for easy web publishing capabilities without the need for programming skills
Both allow for some level of author/reader interactivity through comments
Both can be hosted on the web through 3rd parties or can be installed on a server and run solely in-house.
Blog versus Wiki
Blogs generally have one author and editor
Blogs generally have one page where all information is placed
What is written on a blog appears in reverse chronological order- little control over main content on page
Blogs are time sensitive- new information will be more visible
Blogs are used for one person to highlight news and other date sensitive material while allowing the readers to make comments on that news.
Wikis tend to have multiple authors and editors
Wikis generally have multiple pages
Material on a wiki can be easily manipulated and moved around the site
Wikis aren’t date arranged, not time sensitive.
Wikis allow multiple people to collaboratively create and edit a comment enabled webpage
Great tools for many different classroom needs
Course Management wiki Post links to assignments, exercises, announcements, etc-
similar to using Blackboard. Easily integrate multimedia
Video Photos RSS feeds from relevant journals, blogs, news sources Class calendar
Make it interactive Chat widget could be used for online office hours Post reading questions- require students to answer in the
comments of the wiki (students can then learn from one another)
Make a poll or a quiz that students can answer directly on the wiki
Class wiki examples
East Carolina University -English 1200 http://eng1200.wetpaint.com/
Marty Roberge –Towson- Department of Geography GEOG 672 -
http://mroberge.wiki.zoho.com/Mill-Ponds.html
Course Management Blog
Could be used very similarly to wiki, but must be created in a time conscious way (as class progresses)
Can not easily be reusedhttp://millersenglish10.blogspot.com/
Discussion Blogs
A place for questions to be posed and students to discuss in a virtual environment.
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/wind0061/hist3152/
Reflective Learning Blog
Students are asked to reflect or “journal” on a particular topic every week.
http://danielkiely.wordpress.com/
Student Group Project Wiki
Keep all work in one spot- don’t worry about exchanging emails
Keep research/bibliographic information in one spot Share a project calendar Brainstorming area – especially useful for web based classes
or classes without much group time Document tracking makes it easy to write a rough draft and
turn it into the final Keep all contact info accessible online Cheryl Wood - Department of Educational Technology
ISTC 201 - http://201summercampus.wikispaces.com/ ISTC 702 - http://istc702summer08.wikispaces.com/
Other ideas…
Blogs for communication with students/ parents
Wikis for test preparationFaculty collaboration Department/ University outreach
Wikis in the Classroom
Difficulties mentioned by Dr. Roberge “students having technological difficulties” “students not 'trusting the process': they worry
that their contributions won't be noticed by me, and their wiki work won't be recognized. Even though I can quickly call up a screen showing what everyone has written and edited.”
“students worrying that their work will be erased, or that if they edit someone else's work, that person will get angry.”
“students feeling directionless because the wiki has no inherent structure”
Wikis and Blogs for education?
Allows for active learning through the interactive capabilities between students and/or students and teacher
Easy to use technology – easy way to get something on the web.
“Classroom” available anytime from anywhere Useful not only in the classroom but for staff
projects, training, committees, outreach and numerous other ways
Wikis/Blogs- Things to Consider
Need to be carefully constructed Plan an outline What is the purpose? Blog vs. wiki Make sure that it is easy to navigate Decide what features are important Decide who has access to what sections
Wikis and blogs can be either hosted on an in-house server or hosted online by a 3rd party.
Things to Consider- In-House Server Blog/Wiki
ProsMuch more control
over contentCan be easier to
manipulate for specific purposes Design Access / Security
No ads
ConsRequires server accessImplementation
requires additional technological expertise
Does not always use easy WYSIWYG editing
Things to Consider- Web Hosted Blog/Wiki
ProsRequires little
technological knowledge
WYSIWYG (easy to edit/create)
No server access required
Many do not have ads if used for educational purposes
ConsNo control of what
happens to the content (wiki farm shuts down, wiki could be gone forever)
Not always as flexibleAdditional flexibility
can cost $$
Wiki Software
Server BasedMediawikiPmWikiTwikiMoinMoinXWiki
Web BasedWetPaintPBWikiSeedWikiWikispacesZoho Wikis
Wiki Matrix: http://www.wikimatrix.org/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_wiki_software
Blog Software
Server BasedWordpress.orgMovable Type
Web BasedWordpress.comBloggerLivejournalTypePad
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weblog_software
WetPaint Wikis – www.wetpaint.com
Easy to create and update pagesUse your own logoUse your own domainVariety of permissions settings- possible to
assign roles to each user/ creatorAbility to back up wiki by exporting content
to html documentEasy to navigate designAds will be removed when wikis are used for
educational purposes
Additional Resources on Wikis
Brad Hemminger Cradle Talk: Wikis in Education http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITqvFKb9BbA
Intro to Class Wikis with Wikispaces http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NRbbskf3cA
PBwiki educator videoso http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NRbbskf3cA
Creating a Classroom Wiki using Wetpaint Creating a wiki in Wetpaint
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgqSfSPRLqQ Basic Editing of Wetpaint wikis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wDuj-jH-Zw Getting ads removed from Wetpaint wikis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbh-bHhYpB0
Additional Resources on Blogs
Blogs in Education: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7XiCg_wpzE
Blogs in Plain English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI
Teaching Tips: Using Online Journals and Blogs http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/
S00001449.shtml
Additional Resources
Carissa TomlinsonReference [email protected]
Marty Roberge Geography [email protected]
Cheryl WoodEducational Technology [email protected]