Schoology vs Wikispace

 

This week was very exhausting for me.After a discussion with Dee, we decided to prepare presentations on the pedagogical strategies of web 1.0 and web 2.0.As I joined the class quite late, Dee told me that pedagogy 1 means pedagogical strategies used in Web 1.0 while pedagogy 2 would mean the pedagogy used in we 2.0. So I ended up browsing all the presentations of my friends in spectrum so that I have a better understanding of web 1.0 and web 2.0. On the eve of the presentation day, both of us ended up burning the midnight oil.

Unfortunately, when we met Madam Ng in the morning before the presentation, we were surprised that 1 means part1 and same goes with 2..Waaaaaaaaa

Madam Ng decided that I should not be presenting and Dee will be presenting alone. She captured everyone’s eyes when she brought  her ‘schoology’ in, a website which is not  new to me as I have come across it last year but was new to most of the ‘it savvy’ in the class.. At least now I feel I’m not that handicapped as before…..

Frankly speaking, schoology is more user friendly compared to wikispace or facebook,two websites which are popular among the educators. Here are the strengths of schoology that I found in the net.

• Free
  Easy to use as the format is the basically the same as Facebook
  Easy to manage your course and calendar
  Allow schedule any assignments or answer any questions at any time
  Give students spaces communicate on academic areas
  Supports many media forms including audio, video and images
  Several ways to communicate with each other and clarify misconceptions
  Combining social networking with learning managements
  Adjust private settings for all users or create groups/ class by yourself

  but there are also the weaknesses
• Need to be frequently checked for the updates
  Students could misunderstand teacher's post
  Student might lead one and other through posts
  Time wasting with add-on applications

and here are some ideas that a teacher can use in the classroom

• Teacher can use the site to post classroom news letters, assignments and any comments
  Teachers can post recourse for students use at home
  Safe place for students to learn about social networking
  Create different pages/groups for different projects in classroom for the students to be able to utilize
  Create Lounge rooms for teachers and parents' communication

http://wikiatuni.wikispaces.com/Advantages+and+Disadvantages+of+Wiki

http://teachweb2.wikispaces.com/schoology

My question for this week is how are we going to make sure that we choose the right platform for our students if we as educators are still juggling with the platform? Is trial and error the answer ? Are we willing to risks the students time especially when the education in Malaysia is so exam-oriented?