Narrowing My Area of Interest

For the last two weeks, I have been searching for different Web 2.o tools to use in my elementary-level classes. It hadn't occurred to me when I started that the search would become overwhelming. Frankly, I wasn't aware of how many different Web 2.0 tools were out there. Although I would like to try out everything I have found so far (see earlier posts), it makes more sense, at this point, for me to narrow my area of interest and subsequent search. Therefore, I have decided to shift my focus to the use of blogs and wikis in the elementary language arts classroom.

As I considered this new area of interest, I realized that I wasn't exactly clear on the difference between a blog and a wiki. I, then, decided to search online for an answer. While several sites had definitions and/or descriptions, the one I liked the most was from ConverStations: A blog is like a "talk show with call-in guests - while guests and callers can comment on the conversation, at the end of the day it's the [host's] show". On the other hand, a wiki is like a "talk show with a panel where everyone contributes". With that one metaphor, I finally understood the difference.

A blog is...

• An online journal
• Personal
• Conversational (i.e. comments by readers lead to ongoing discussions and conversations.)

A wiki is...

• A collaborative document
• Created by several people who contribute (i.e. add, delete, and/or modify) information to the same piece

Now that I'm clear on the difference between the two, I'm ready to tackle the next step - identifying some educational blogs and wikis and determining which are the most appropriate for my specific teaching situation.