Blogs and Wikis

Blogs and wikis are two great tools for instructors looking for new ways to interact and support researchers. Wikis are powerful yet easy to use online collaboration tools. Blogs are a simple way to post content online and communicate with students. Blogs and wikis are websites that can easily be supported by multiple authors or contributors and no software is required, just a web browser.

What is a Wiki?

You may have heard of the most famous and visible wiki, the great Wikipedia from various authors. There are many other platforms that are even simpler and easier to incorporate into the educational context. Wikis are unique websites where a set of web pages are converted into online documents that can be created or edited by multiple authors.

Consider the famous example from Wikipedia.org, a user-generated wiki encyclopedia. Unlike blogs, wikis generally consist of more static content agreed by a group over time and updated when necessary. They can be public for the entire Internet or private for a select group of people as needed for different projects. Wikis are good for collaborative work to complete a static site that could serve as a one-stop resource for others.

Wiki types

Depending on the platform or software you choose, wikis can be:

Private: Authorized users must register and log in to view or edit content.

Protected: Anyone can see, but only registered users can edit.

Audience: anyone can view and edit.

Recommended Wiki Platforms

PBworks.com

wikispaces.com

What is a blog?

Blogs in their initial form were called “web logs,” a simple means of annotating shared links found on the web. Today, blogs serve a wide variety of functions, from topical opinion blogs on topics like politics or science to commercial blogs that publish news or promotions. This tool generally consists of frequent posts arranged in reverse chronological order (the most recent entries at the top) that are generally written by an individual whose personality or perspective emerges through her writing.

Group blogs consist of multiple authors who write on a certain topic who are also clearly identified. Blogs are usually public, but can be made private for selected readers to see. The space for reader comments can make blog posts a place for discussion. Twitter is an example of a popular microblog where posts are restricted to a specific number of characters. It is designed for quick and brief updates, reflecting immediacy. Blogs are good for projects that require constant updates that consist of independent, self-contained stories, such as news updates or magazine-style posts.

Recommended blog platforms

WordPress.com

Blogger.com

Advantages of the blog

Perhaps the two main great advantages of wikis, blogs are their ease of use and the availability of many low-cost / free / open source software and hosting options to run them. Examples of the latter include MediaWiki (Open Source – the same software package that runs Wikipedia) and Google Blogger. Wikis and blogs also use RSS, which means that users can easily configure / subscribe to ‘feeds’ to automatically receive content updates from their favorite services.

Disadvantages of the blog

Wikis and blogs are sometimes prone to vandalism and, as a result, serious quality issues, due to their free-form nature and (relative / potential) lack of control over their content, although this may also be their great deal. strength. One of the most famous documented examples of vandalism on the Web occurred on Wikipedia in the biographical article on John Seigenthaler, Sr. In an open and collaborative web environment, anyone can easily post copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright holders.

Copyright (see, for example, regularly updated Wikipedia listings for potential copyright violations), posting content that would otherwise be inappropriate or misleading, editing existing content in a way that reduces its quality / accuracy , or even delete / leave a good wiki entry blank There is also the problem of protecting the patient’s anonymity when clinical data and images are published on the Web

Benefits of Blogs and Wikis

Simplicity and Flexibility: For both platforms there is often no need to learn HTML, as they offer simple editors and ways to change the look. Since they are accessible in any Internet browser, they are easily accessible to students. We can also embed your links on the course learning page to make them even more available.

Extending the conversation:Conversation about your topic is no longer limited to the instructor or student classroom or office setting, but rather expands to allow for peer interaction, interaction with the public (if your project is public), and interaction with external content. (via web links).

Transferable skills and resources: Beyond the scope of the course, students will be able to use skills such as online knowledge about the app, some aspects of HTML, social collaboration with the public and their peers, and writing for a wider audience. Also, depending on how you use the tool, there may be reusable content that you can present to other years of your teaching.

Setting up the Blog or Wikis

It must be public for researchers to read and comment. It should also be a space to communicate important ideas and resources related to the course to the students. Both teachers and students should be able to publish content. Students should be able to help gather useful content and resources that will benefit everyone. In the same way, students will be able to publish content individually or as part of groups so that students can show work in progress or collaborate and show group work.

Planning the Blog or Wikis

Here we propose a rough plan that should help you when you start setting up a blog or wiki.

Choose the wiki or blog platform. When selecting a platform to meet your particular needs, we recommend paying attention to the finest details of appearance, storage space, features, privacy, trusted developers, etc. You should not be afraid to try the platform to get an idea of how it would work for your needs, this will help you immensely in making your decision.

Develop an acceptable use agreement. Clearly state what constitutes acceptable engagement and behavior on the site. You should also allow students to contribute to the deal, especially if it’s posted on a wiki page.

Plan the integration of the Blog and Wikis

Decide how the blog or wiki will form connections to the learning content and fit the course structure. Decide how it will be graded and whether it will be an individual or group project for your students. Take time to review or walkthrough the tool, and consider a system for students to easily follow changes (for example, email or RSS subscriptions). Make sure you have backup contingency plans in case students don’t want to participate, software issues or other complications. If you have any questions, you can contact us. At Online-tesis.com, we are here to fulfill your dream.

Towards a research and development agenda in Blogs and Wikis

Clearly, these Web 2.0 applications are here to stay and can be very useful in higher education settings. However, new technologies are particularly vulnerable to criticism, as they can be expensive to implement / employ (not just the cost of the software), which takes a long time to learn how to use (for example, for tutors to develop ‘scenarios’). pedagogically sound use and activities that make use of new technologies), and may initially show little relevance to teaching and learning. Therefore, emerging technologies such as those introduced in this article should be systematically evaluated to determine their benefits and limitations in a number of learning contexts, and to determine and document their appropriate use for higher education.

Undergraduate and graduate students and members of the general public are, in many ways, different audiences with different learning needs. However, there are also many areas of overlap and potentials for useful online collaboration between these audiences. There may be room to compile some sets of shared audience educational content using Web 2.0 tools and, in doing so, maximize the efficiency of content creation and delivery, and promote fruitful collaboration among students. However, to achieve this, research is needed on what factors (in relation to content, presentation, and audience) cause the intersection between different audience domains to grow large or small, and to different possibilities / scenarios. for collaboration between these audiences.

Bibliographic References

Wheeler S: Student Perceptions of Learning Support in Distance Education. Quarterly Review of Distance Education. 2002, 3 (4): 419-430.

Rovai AP: Building a Sense of Community at a Distance. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 2002, [http://www.irrodl.org/content/v3.1/rovai.html]

Short J, Williams E, Christie B: The Social Psychology of Telecommunications. 1976, London: John Wiley and Sons

You might also be interested in: Mobile Learning