Comments on: Blogs vs. wikis vs. podcasts – why schools like wikis & podcasts

By: gabriela sellart

gabriela sellart — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:54:59 +0000

I think blogs are more visible, that may discourage some teachers. The possibility of losing control may be discouraging too.
But most of all, as you say, wikis and podcasts fit any curriculum. If you set your class to blogging certainly have to leave your comfort zone. And this might be a challenge for some people and an obstacle for others.

By: Whitney Hoffman

Whitney Hoffman — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:41:16 +0000

It’s also about control. Blogs can be criticized by anyone on the internet, including parents, administrators, other teachers, other students. With moderated comments, you could control anything inappropriate, but it also opens up people to critique on a wider scale- students and teachers.

However, the digital ocean is all about giving up a sense of total control. As Educon showed us, giving students a meaningful say and voice in a school doesn’t lead to chaos- it leads to community, ownership and involvement. Responsibility. Great power (or freedom) requires a judicious exercise of self-control and responsibility, and I think teachers need to learn to trust kids more often than not. Dr Bob Brooks encourages parents to ask their kids for a job review- why couldn’t teachers do the same?

By: Mathew

Mathew — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:05:08 +0000

Good points. It might also be about time. Teachers like projects. You make a podcast and you move onto the next thing whereas blog writing/commenting is ongoing and would require a different way of teaching.