e-chronicle

A blog is a web page serving as personal journal for an individual, and can include multimedia. Wikis are a collection of editable web pages that can be edited by anyone, at any time, from anywhere. Each tool puts the learner at the centre of the learning process; supports the writing process, reflection in learning, and student empowerment; promotes a sense of community, and the idea that learners are experts in their learning process; increases social and peer interaction and collaboration; provides additional cognitive scaffolding with received feedback or revisiting their own writing; and develops critical thinking skills. Emphasis is on the writing experience and not the technology, and learning to use the tools is easily achievable. Blogs are less editable than wikis, and there is the possibility of inappropriate feedback to blog entries. Wiki entries can be easily edited or deleted accidentally, but this can be overcome with usage guidelines, and tracking and authentication mechanisms. 

Dawley, L 2007, ‘Blogs and wikis’, in The tools for successful online teaching, Information Science Publishing, Hershey, pp. 205–226. 

This entry was posted on May 17, 2008 at 9:35 pm and is filed under Learning 2.0, Web 2.0, communication, e-learning, learning, learning community, sense of community, social learning, web-based learning tools.