Comments on: Wikis as content management – meh…?

By: Dave LaMorte from Teaching for the Future

Dave LaMorte from Teaching for the Future — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 21:29:07 +0000

Wikipedia is a resource that has its limitations, but have you checked out The Wikiversity? It's trying to be more scholarly than the Wikipedia. I'd love to hear what you think.

By: John Schinker

John Schinker — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:54:44 +0000

Wikis still have a long way to go before they gain a significant foothold in the schools. As someone who has written more web pages in vi and notepad than any other application, it annoys me to have to use a different markup language for wikis. When they evolve to the point where it’s trivial to modify formatting, work with tables, insert pictures and links, and attach documents of different types, it’ll become a powerful tool. Until then, they’ll just be toys for the technorati and middle school students who haven’t yet discovered that they’re too hard to use

If I were a teacher working in a classroom, I would be using WordPress for my class web site. Even with significant technology experience, I use it because it takes the work out of web publishing.

The teacher’s goal with a web site (at least, a first web site) is to get information online quickly and easily for students and parents. We need to give them the tools with the lowest possible learning curve to get that done in a professional-looking way. They don’t want to be web designers. They want to be teachers. If you throw in the fact that you can build a simple learning community with blog software, there’s plenty there to get them started.

Once they’ve outgrown WordPress, I’d put them in Moodle. That’s where they get all of the tools they need to do just about anything they can dream up.

Wikis? They have their place. But as Dave said in the original post, there are limited situations where they’re really going to work well.

By: Sharon Peters

Sharon Peters — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 22:25:59 +0000

Okay, Dave, we have already chatted about this, but it is worth leaving a comment as well. Wikis seem to be the current flavour of the month – and for good reasons. For years, I created my own class websites and webpages for showcasing student projects. I also taught web design to high school students for several years. However, after discovering wikis, I now have a great sense of freedom! No more webpage design (I never believed I was particularly good at it)! The webpages were designed to provide flat content or links (web 1.0??) for information delivery. In order for students to respond to content, a forum or bulletin board (sometimes in a content/learning management system) was used. Now with the discussion feature of wikis, readers can respond to the content within the same page. The history feature makes it easy to keep up with the contributions of the student collaborators.

Wikis as a content *management* system, though, is another matter. Would we use a flat webpage as a content management system? It simply is not the right tool for the purpose. And with the abundance of online environments from which to choose, there is no excuse to find the appropriate model.

By: keep on blogging - medienbox

keep on blogging - medienbox — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 11:01:40 +0000

[...] Vor- und Nachteile von Wikis in der Lehre beschreibt Dave Cormier in Reaktion auf die NYSAIS conference in New York. Gefunden bei edufuture.de. Thema: Web 2.0 | 19.11.06 | M. Czehak [0] Kommentare [...]

By: Einsatzszenarien fÃ¼r Wikis at eduFutureBlog

Einsatzszenarien fÃ¼r Wikis at eduFutureBlog — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 08:25:45 +0000

[...] Wikis as content management – meh…?Mit einer ganzen Reihe an möglichen Einsatzszenarien … [...]

By: Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 04:26:58 +0000

Actually, it may surprise you to know that I think wikis are absolutely NOT a content management system for schools. I honestly think that is not a good idea. When you see my wiki home page you see a page built by me with my RSS feeds and for my students to have a central place for my classroom. I oversee formatting, etc. Wikis are a great hub for collaborative projects — but I think that a blog based system that is integrated with a school website via RSS is the best way to go! It is really a great way to do things.

I think you are right on the money on this wiki analysis. Every technology tool has a purpose and a use, but every technology tool cannot be used for everything. Perhaps I have success because I fit the tool to the intended use and do not try to put a square wiki in an HTML sized hole?

Great analysis! I’ve heard great things about you from the other WOW2-ers. Now I see why!