Final+Class+Experience+(wiki+vs.+blog)

I have been using wikis for over a year now and am quite comfortable in creating wikipages. They are user friendly and easy to manage. The only complaint I have so far is the uploading of files takes more steps than it should. A drag and drop option would be nice.

I recently created a blog at edublog.com. The initial creation of the blog seems confusing and I am still trying to determine the best applications for blog usage.

The biggest difference I noticed is layout and user access. Blogs allow the author the control of posting info for invited to users to view. Depending on their access rights, they may make comments on the blog, but need to be approved by the author before posting. This is a nice control feature but may turn off some viewers. The blog also lists entries by date in a journalistic approach. This also would be useful for information that is time sensitive.

As a teacher, I will most likely continue using wikis because of its user friendliness and overall visual simplicity. As an administrator, I would potentially use a blog for recording reflections on best teaching practices, conference notes, school updates, etc. Wikis also could be used for this but the blog does appear to have a more professional look to it.