Wiki or Vista?
Having done a comparison with the wiki space and WebCT Vista, there are several difference. First, I feel a sense of community in the former as everyone is given more privilege to assist each other on a more personal basis through the editing feature. In this space, I have seen where others have edited my post and gave it a suitable heading to distinguish it from others. In addition, wiki is keeping in line with web 2.0 concept which entails a social aspect to the online experience; which is the future of the web and similar to the space I interact with out of class. The Internet technologies of the subsequent generation have been profoundly social, as listservs, Usenet groups, discussion software, groupware, and Web-based communities have linked people around the world (Alexander, 2006). Unlike Vista, wiki gives us the opportunity to create a community based project that can be used for future reference. Also, there is less distraction in this space as one is not confronted with a myriad of different threads on the page which sometimes trigger the panic button.
As it relates to advantage, there is more of an atmosphere that we are working for a common good; as the space offer more freedom for interaction. This space satisfies our appetites as it is an extension of what we are accustom to in our social circles. This space is more suited for real collaboration unlike the threaded discussions where I have to be clicking on separate links to comment. I was now able to see everyone’s contribution on the same page which makes commenting much easier.
A major challenge is that members are free to tweak your work and might even accidentally erase what you have posted. Also, I am not aware of the persons online so I can have direct chat. The platform is also overcrowded with information as there is no real sense of order. This pose a problem when one wants to view who commented on his/her post. The space is informal by nature so navigating to and fro to carry out activities hampers the process to some extent.
Alexander, B. (2006). Web 2.0: A new wave of innovation for teaching and learning? Educause Review, 33-43.
Cogent observations! Sites like UBC Wiki and Wikipedia (English version) have folks whose role it is to keep a semblance of order to the wiki. The latter also has an army of volunteer editors who ensure the calibre of the work remains high. Of course the degree of rigour is often inversely proportional to the popularity of the topic (pages on someone like Barack Obama will have more edits–and more scrutiny–than, say, one on Frida Boccara).
John,
Thanks for your insights. Appreciated.
Everton