Blog or Wiki? - It depends on your goal.

What do you as an individual teacher OR as a grade level OR as a subject area want to do with your students with respect to their learning goals?

You want to have a discussion? Then we can create a blog.

You want to co-create and co-edit? Then we can create a wiki.

Examples:

Mrs. Fuchs wants her students to exchange ideas about why smoking is bad, how it affects the lungs, if students have family members or friends who have been affected by smoking. She would do this in a blog. Perhaps she just starts with her homeroom class as her initial test project.

But, Mrs. Lothamer wants her students to co-create a really solid descriptive paragraph on the topic of the week. They can create this in a wiki, where the students are ALL editors and co-creators of this document. They can also add comments or attachments as they are working on this project. Again, she could just start with her homeroom to see how it works.

Mr. Stevenson wants students to discuss current events that relate to 4th graders. He can do this in a blog...again perhaps just starting with his homeroom, or perhaps this topic lends itself easier to opening it up to the entire grade level. Mr. S controls the topics that are posted, and students respond with their ideas and reflections.

Mrs. Durling wants her students to extend a discussion on the novel they are studying. They could have "Novel Novel Discussions." Based on her class' studies of Jackie Robinson, she could pose a question to her students such as, "If you had to move to another country with your family, what would be some of the most difficult challenges you think you would have to face?" That would best take place in a blog.

Mrs. Aderhold wants her students to problem solve math problems related to building a fence for their own backyards. She could do this in a wiki OR a blog, depending on defining more specific goals.

Mrs. Hicks wants to create a class prayer journal. This would involve co-creating and co-editing. This would best take place in a wiki.

So, you see, the question is NOT do we all do a wiki or a blog. The question is what do I want my students to be able to do, accomplish, understand, etc. Once you understand this, then Michelle, Dolores and Lucy can help you with the technology. Believe it or not, that's the easy piece. It's coming up with the purpose that's the most difficult and the most important.