Sunday, January 23, 2011

The difference between websites and blogs

Websites and blogs are very different from each other.  I wouldn’t say it’s like comparing apples to oranges, but I feel that they both serve different purposes.  Websites are less collaborative than blogs.  Blogs allow people to discuss topics and learn together about a topic and share what they know.  Websites are informational but do not allow for people to post and collaborate on the content actively.  One person, company, or a small group of people contribute to a website that has the permission to do so, while with a blog any person that the author allows can make comments or add to the blog. 
Both websites and blogs have a similar downfall and that is accuracy.  I feel that people have to be cautious about what they believe to be factual.  This has been an issue with the internet once it became public domain.  In a blog it seems easier to run across inaccurate information than in a website only because it is more of a “living” document than a web site.  Though websites can be updated as often as a blog, it is harder to have people from outside of the website creators to make changes to the content.

2 comments:

  1. Great point! One must be cautious about most information posted online. It's always best to do a background check of the author's credentials. How do you see yourself using blogs with your biology and chemistry students?

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  2. I have used forums with my students, but not blogs. I could see blogs in a similar way to the forums that I have used. I can see them being used as a way for students to track the work they do on a long term project, to collaborate on group projects and to use to help my students with CER (Claim, Evdience, Reasoning) inquiry skills. This could be done through giving them a blog to read and have them look for evidence(or lack of evidince) that a author of a blog may have to prove a point.

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