1. Pedagogical Uses of
Wikis and Blogs
SOCHE/GCCCU Higher Education Conference
February 5, 2008

2. Pedagogical Uses of
Wikis and Blogs
blogs and wikis
use in education
benefits
challenges
getting started

3. • encourages student-faculty
interaction
Good Practice
• encourages cooperation
among students
• encourages active learning
• gives prompt feedback
7 • emphasizes time on task
principles of good practice
in undergraduate education
• communicates high
expectations
• respect diverse talents and
ways of learning
March 1987 AAHE Bulletin, Chickering and Gamson

4. Good Practice
“Any given instructional strategy can be
supported by a number of contrasting
technologies (old and new), just as any
given technology might support different
instructional strategies. But for any given
instructional strategy, some technologies
7
are better than others: Better to turn a
screw with a screwdriver than a hammer
principles of good practice — a dime may also do the trick, but a
screwdriver is usually better.”
in undergraduate education
Arthur W. Chickering and Stephen C. Ehrmann
IMPLEMENTING THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES: Technology as Lever
March 1987 AAHE Bulletin, Chickering and Gamson

5. Blogs What’s a Blog?
• online journal or weblog
• posts displayed in reverse
chronological order
• users can
‣ easily post new entries
‣ comment on entries
‣ include media and
external links
‣ archive and search
previous posts

6. Blogs Who’s Blogging?
‣ personal diaries
‣ editorials/commentary
‣ news and information
‣ group and individual

7. Blogs Blogs in Class
‣ teacher posts
‣ student responses
‣ student posts
‣ class v. individual blogs
‣ assigned v. informal
writing
‣ class blog as internet
and media hub

8. Blogs Pedagogical Benefits
‣ Blogs can promote critical
and analytical thinking.
‣ Blogging can be a powerful
promoter of creative,
intuitive, and associational
thinking.
‣ Blogs promote analogical
thinking.
‣ Blogs increase access to
quality information
‣ Blogging combines the best of
solitary reflection and
social interaction.
Fernette Eide M.D. and Brock Eide M.D. M.A.
http://www.eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/

9. Blogs Pedagogical Benefits
‣ available anytime and almost
anywhere; more time on
task
‣ active learning; encourage
participation; investment
in the course
‣ build community; promote
interaction
‣ develop expertise through
writing and debate
‣ encounter diverse
perspectives
‣ repository for class material/
media

10. Blogs Pedagogical Challenges
‣ IT support?
‣ too many choices/features
‣ keep the writing on task and
substantive
‣ maintain decorum
‣ assessment

11. Blogs Create Your Own
free hosting sites
or download the software yourself

12. Wikis What’s a Wiki?
• collaborative authoring
• users can
‣ create, edit and delete
pages
‣ user friendly markup
language
‣ easily link one page to
another
‣ comment on text
‣ review the history of
changes

13. Wikis Who’s Using a Wiki?
‣ content management system
‣ open encyclopedia
‣ collaborative workspace
‣ information source

15. Wikis Wikis in Class
‣ repository for class
information and hub for
class activity
‣ collaborative group
projects
‣ writing and revision
assignments
‣ creating a class text
‣ student portfolios
‣ collaboration among
faculty

16. Wikis Pedagogical Benefits
‣ available anytime and
almost anywhere; more
time on task
‣ active learning; encourage
participation; investment
in the course
‣ build community; promote
interaction
‣ develop expertise through
writing and debate
‣ encounter diverse
perspectives
‣ repository for class material/
media

17. Wikis Pedagogical Benefits
‣ emphasis on collaboration
and cooperation
‣ more complex peer working
relationships requiring
negotiation
‣ greater emphasis on
revision process
‣ emphasis on associations
and conceptual
relationships

18. Wikis Pedagogical Challenges
‣ IT support?
‣ too many choices/features
‣ vandalism
‣ loss of control
‣ process of peer revision
‣ assessment

19. Wikis Create Your Own

20. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
Blogs v. Wikis

21. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
➡ Blog posts tend to be more personal and
reflective; they are static and aimed at more
immediate availability.
➡ Wiki entries tend to be less personal, more
informational; they are dynamic but aimed at
long-term availability.

22. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
➡ Blog posts tend to be more personal and
reflective; they are static and aimed at more
immediate availability.
➡ Wiki entries tend to be less personal, more
informational; they are dynamic but aimed at
long-term availability.

23. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
➡ Blog posts tend to be individual efforts, though
there may be opportunities for comment and
discussion; build community through shared
interests emphasis on generation of a product.
➡ Wiki entries tend to be highly collaborative and
cooperative endeavors; build community
through shared effort; focus on the revision
process.

24. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
➡ Blog posts tend to be individual efforts, though
there may be opportunities for comment and
discussion; build community through shared
interests emphasis on generation of a product.
➡ Wiki entries tend to be highly collaborative and
cooperative endeavors; build community
through shared effort; focus on the revision
process.

25. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
➡ Blogs are organized chronologically, with an
emphasis on external connections. Blogs
provide a publication space.
➡ Wikis present a web-like structure, a more
spatial layout, with an emphasis on both
internal and external connections. Wikis
provide a work space.

26. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
➡ Blogs are organized chronologically, with an
emphasis on external connections. Blogs
provide a publication space.
➡ Wikis present a web-like structure, a more
spatial layout, with an emphasis on both
internal and external connections. Wikis
provide a work space.

27. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
➡ Blogs lend themselves to more lineal or
chronological order and navigation; the starting
point is now.
➡ Wikis lend themselves to semantic navigation
based on relationships between pages; there is
no starting point.

28. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
➡ Blogs lend themselves to more lineal or
chronological order and navigation; the starting
point is now.
➡ Wikis lend themselves to semantic navigation
based on relationships between pages; there is
no starting point.

29. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
➡ Blogs tend to provide a formatting menu bar; no
html or special markup language required;
creating new posts is easy.
➡ Wikis also provide a formatting menu bar, but
typically use a simple markup language; no
html required; page creation, revision and
deletion are easy.

30. ‣ character of posts
‣ collaboration and
interaction
‣ organization
‣ navigation
‣ user friendly
➡ Blogs tend to provide a formatting menu bar; no
html or special markup language required;
creating new posts is easy.
➡ Wikis also provide a formatting menu bar, but
typically use a simple markup language; no
html required; page creation, revision and
deletion are easy.

31. Pedagogical Uses of
Wikis and Blogs
Thank You
Contact me with questions at garns@nku.edu
This slideshow and links to additional resources
will be available at
http://www.rudygarns.com/POD/doku.php?id=soche2008