Wiki Experiences

Wikis are really interesting.  I have to admit that I continue to be a little confused- how do you put what where?  But I'm hoping that after I go home and watch the wiki How-To videos, I will be more confident in my wiki skills.  Wikis potentially have a lot more to offer to a classroom situation than a blog.  Blogs are a lot less interactive and, I feel, more limited in scope.  When a student hears the term "Wiki"-anything, they automatically perk up and connect it with the idea of an encyclopedic page, full of information in an open format.  They may or may not know that it is something to be edited, however they do know, as conscientious kids, that wikis can't always be relied on for complete accuracy.  This is something kids NEED to know, and giving them their own license to edit and change a class wiki will really send the point home.  All of that being said, blogs are still my favorite, and they are useful for a teacher in guaging student participation.  Whether the children are creating their own blogs, which can be monitored and checked frequently by their instructor, or if they are simply responding to a teacher's blog, it seems like it would be much easier to keep track of who is getting their homework done and by when.  The time stamps and speed of blogging is unbeatable.  However, students might not take them to be as factual and truthful than a wiki, as wikis relate more to scholastic entries about a subject and blogs are opinion based.  So there are ups and downs to each method, and I am happy to know how to do each, but blogs continue to hold top honors as far as I'm concerned.