Blogs vs Wikis

Remembering the goal is to provide a collaborative virtual learning environment, Blogs and Wiki’s provide for a similar kind of service, differentiated primarily by the layout and organisation of content.  Simply put, Blogs lend themselves better to explorative collaboration in more of a free flowing discussion style, while Wiki’s typically encourage a more structured categorical accumulation of data.  However that being said, it is possible to use Wiki’s in a Blog like manner and vica-vera! Therefore, I do not like to look at Wikis and Blogs as apples and oranges, rather, related forms of websites on a spectrum that should be selected based upon learning or business requirements.  Take a look at the table below as a guide to the different characteristics of Wikis and Blogs.  

Wiki vs Blog - sites on a spectrum

VLE & Creativity

While this blog aims to explore technologies surrounding Virtual Learning Environments from a funtional perspective, I would like to highlight the importance of creativity in education as one of the critical driving forces in support of VLEs 

Plato & Education

‘Then don’t use compulsion,’ I said to him, ‘ but let your children’s lessons take the form of play. You will learn more about their natural abilities that way.’ (Plato – The Republic, 380BC)

Plato – The Republic had some very interesting things to say about not only Plato’s ideal government / man but also the education system necissary to support these ideals.

Read more about what Plato’s Republic has to say about Education is his ideal world – http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/dillon/education_plato_republic.html