Blogging through the Wikis

Technology advances create a dynamic landscape in corporate and educational practices. To remain competitive in the board room or in the classroom requires stakeholders to embrace an attitude of life-long learning. Excess information bombards our senses, creating a need to filter that which is relevant and important to our individual needs and interests. Even what Ko and Rossen (2010) refer to as mid-level technology can have big impacts on student performance.

To blog or to “wik” is a decision to be made based on the desired product. Blogs are permanent in nature, so can reflect growth and change over time. Wikis are more flexible because commentaries are less permanent, they are constantly being edited to reflect current thought.

According to Dawley (2007) well thought-out Blog and Wiki assignments are useful ways that instructors help learners focus on a given set of criteria and demonstrate reflective thinking, application, and synthesis of the information (pg. 213-215). Because their work is public, students are motivated to produce a quality product, but can also bring on fear of criticism. Providing rubrics offset that anxiety and offer students a way to express themselves.

The popularity of expressing oneself through a social platform is on the rise, and as Washington State University (Pullman) assistant professor Guy Westoff notes, "It takes about five minutes to create a blog and to start using the technology. No advanced tech skills are needed and the return on your investment is almost immediate. Blogs allow faculty to extend the discussion outside the classroom and allows students who normally do not participate in large group conversations to have a voice and provide their viewpoints and feedback." (Ortega, 2011)

References

Dawley, L. (2007). The tools for successful online teaching (1 ed.). Hershey: Information Science Publishing.

Ortega, M. (2011). Future Teachers Learn to Integrate Technology in the Classroom. Pullman: Washington State University.

Susan Ko, S. R. (2010). Teaching online; a practical guide. New York: Routledge.