I did try the link to the google site and tried to edit it the other night, but it did not have the option to edit. I did read through the teacher, student, and parent suggestions and there were quite a few that I will keep in mind. I was not as persistent as Jim, however, in trying to edit and add to the list and I gave up. I have been on other wikis before that members of my team have created and I have edited them, so I am familiar with the process.
Below is a link to a wiki I started for a project done this year with students. I just sent emails inviting you in case to you want to look at some of the links to additional pages. We did a team project called IF Activist and divided students on the team into groups, assigned a topic, and had them choose sides. Our topic, as you can see by the wiki, has to do with a mandatory DNA database for all residents of our new country, Independent Fairfield. The project is based on a unit started by Paul Schluntz and Tom Everett "back in the day", but it has been updated and recently under Tim Ley's guidance, we have used pbworks wikis.
http://dnadatabase2011.pbworks.com/w/page/36998733/Mandatory-DNA-Database
I initially set up the page and divided students into the Watsons and Cricks. Links to note taking sheets and helpful documents were provided, as well as a few guiding research questions and websites. I also gave each student a link to his or her own page to post information. From there, students ran with it. I took a gamble and gave them all editor privileges, and they were actually quite good about doing the right thing. Most of the students enjoyed using the wiki. It allowed them to collaborate, and check the progress of their teammates. There were student moderators who were also in charge of touching base with all team members. These very responsible moderators also posted their own links and kept a team work cited for the project. I enjoyed having the wiki for the project as well, once it was set up.
At the beginning, students in my group were invited to the wiki and given passwords, so only they could work on it. It was not available to the general public. I could received e-mails about updates, and I could check page history if there were any problems. There was a bit of friendly banter between student moderators after the fact- when they accompanied our team to the Tech Expo this spring.
It seems to me that a blog would be more for comments and editorials, and the information is shown in chronological order, with the latest entries visible and older posts are not. It seems more like the online journal of one person, with comments by others possible. A wiki appears to be better suited to class projects from what I have seen. It is like a website that "belongs" to many with editing rights.
Nice work. You have internalized the essence of each of the main heavyweights of Web 2.0- shared documents, wikis, and blogs. As you have seen, the lines can blur. For example, in many wikis, you can add a comments feature, making it behave somewhat like a blog. The key, however, is to know the right tool for your purpose, and you have that down.
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