Blogs versus Wiki

At our meeting on September 18, 2008, we compared the nature of blogs versus wiki as they are being used in educational settings. Most said that blogs can be useful if there is a need for a linear way of disseminating information, such as when an instructor of an e-learning course needs to inform the class of upcoming activities. Some said that blogs can facilitate a discussion that is more cohesive and that students can concentrate on a particular situation or problem better than wiki. Yet some think that blogs do not facilitate discussions as well as wiki since the latter provides a forum in which open participation among students is encouraged (blogs do not allow more than one person to add ideas or make changes).

In general, we agreed that blogs changed the nature of classroom participation. We agreed that blogs can be used as a tool which allows students in an e-learning course to elucidate ideas in writing after an initial face-to-face discussion in a classroom setting. One of my classmates said that blogs can bring out the personality of a student; a generally shy student can be quite aggressive in their blogging.

I would add that blogs can also be used as a tool for students with limited English skills to share their ideas with the rest. For instance, even though I am not an ESL student, I do have problems with expressing my ideas in a classroom situation at times. As much as I hate it, I have to structuralize my ideas prior to expressing them through words, and this process requires time (I might sound strange if I don't do it). It is rather a cumbersome process to keep up with who's saying what and what their ideas are in a regular classroom setting. However, blogging can remedy the problem because it allows me extra time to figure out a way to say something prior to posting my ideas.