Why use wikis and blogs?

The key to this question is that the content on both types of website can be written by the user. Therefore, teachers and students can generate their own content.

One of the main reasons why these tools have become popular as classroom tools is their motivational aspect. Students can now see their work published live on the internet. As they control and publish it themselves, there is a high level of motivation to work hard. This often leads to higher quality content than would have been generated in similar paper-based activities.

Because it is published on the internet, material can be accessed anywhere with an internet connection (in Hong Kong that's pretty much everywhere). Students can show their friends and parents what they are working on and they may also be able to add to it outside class time, thus increasing involvement and not restricting their participation to the classroom.

Most of us are fortunate enough to have access to the internet in the classroom and have a dedicated computer room where students can do work. What better way to practice writing than on a something that publishes, stores and shares a student's work?

As well as these benefits, wikis and blogs are very easy to use and their application in the classroom is only limited by our imagination.