User:Eml4500.f08.delta 6.guzman/Evaluation of Wikiversity vs E-learning

Wikiversity: Pros


 * Reports can be easily edited by any group member.
 * Dr. VuQuoc insists in using it because he strongly believes Wikiversity would be greatly accepted in the future.

Wikiversity: Cons


 * Professionals often discourage the use of Wikipedia as a valid source of information.
 * The quality of the work done does not equal the amount of time spent on Wikiversity due to the unfamiliarity with the system.
 * The grade for each team member is given in proportion to their Wiki contributions instead of the equal distribution that would be given to any other group effort.
 * Wikiversity content can be changed by any person with a valid IP address.
 * The quality of work decreases since any other member from another group can observe the Wiki report and just copy its contents as its own.

E-learning: Pros


 * System provided just to the University of Florida students.
 * Secured system that can only be accessed with a valid Gator username and password.
 * Members from other groups can not observe/modify the reports. Only the group members, professors and TA are able to.
 * The system provides a feature that compares reports/essays to any available information online making cheating and copy right infringements almost impossible.
 * The system provides the chat feature which allows students to contribute to other group members without meetings in person facilitating and improving the quality of the reports.
 * Students are familiar with E-learning making the time spent in projects truly reflect the quality of the work.
 * Program usage of Word, Excel and Power Point are encouraged by E-learning since these programs are greatly accepted in the industry.
 * The grade is equally distributed since there was just one report presented by the group instead of having a grade count by the number of collaborations made in the report.
 * E-learning motivates confidentiality since all the other groups’ work is kept private just like in real life project.
 * Students actually learn the material since they do not have to spent time to figure out unfamiliar commands in E-learning.

E-learning: Cons


 * Editing one report is usually done by one group member instead of all the collaborating members.

Conclusion

I honestly believe that Wikiversity and E-learning can not be compared to each other. The two systems have different purposes. While Wikiversity is intended for easy learning the E-learning system is intended for students who are part of an institution and this system reflects the principles of confidentiality and integrity that the University of Florida stands for. The online editing feature of Wikiversity is the only disadvantage that I believe is holding back the E-learning system. Once this feature is available there won’t be any reason to use Wikiversity. I do enjoy E-learning more because it reflects many of the aspects that I will experience when I get out of college. The use of programs widely accepted is encourage same as the privacy and ethics principles I have learnt while completing my degree. Also the amount of time spent on the reports is truly reflected when using the E-learning system. For these reasons I believe that the E-learning system is a better approach for the college classroom.