Wednesday, January 4, 2012

What's a Wiki? What's a Blog? What's Google Doc?

Okay, you'll hear a lot about all three of these--wikis, blogs, and Google docs--throughout this course, EDUC 584. Here are some videos to help you understand more about each of these wonderful collaborative, multi-media tools.

What's A Wiki in Simple English?




Did this video give you a good sense of what is wiki is?

Now, take a look at this video about What's a Blog in Plain English:




Okay, now you know more about wikis and blogs, and you now have an idea of how they differ and also overlap in specific ways.

Now, let's take a look at What's Google Docs:




Now, you have heard in plain English what's a wiki, a blog, and Google docs. Some of you already knew about all these tools, some of you probably knew about one or two, and for others, perhaps all three were new to you.

Overall, did you find these videos helpful? More videos about each of these tools and how to use them will be added to the Instructional Technology blog, so be sure to keep checking. In the meantime, what more do you want to know about any one of these tools? How can you see these tools being used in educational settings?

If you have used any of these tools, let us know how? If you already have a blog, with what blogging tool did you create it? For instance, did you use Blogger, EduBlog, WordPress, Tumblr, or one of other blogging platforms available? Have you used a wiki tool like Wikispaces? Have you experimented or made regular use of Google Docs? If you are using any of these authoring tools, let us know how easy and effective you find what you've used or are now using.