A short YouTube-panel transcript (circa 2007) where multiple speakers discuss their favorite pbwiki features. Key points: easy linking/uploading of existing documents to avoid re-creating work; simple embedding of hosted video (YouTube/Google Video) for panel recordings; revision history that lets educators restore accidentally removed content; and API/plugins that extend functionality but can be locked down by page administrators for safe use in educational settings.
I always say, you know, it's the dog ate your homework. So funny because now it's not only that the dog can't eat it, but it's time stamped.
The fact that you can link and upload documents is excellent. I love being able to take my related documents, which I already have. So I'm not reinventing the wheel, I'm just posting them into cyberspace and organizing them.
I think the fact that you can embed things very easily is very good because for example, when we have panel discussions, we like to film them. Put it on Google Video or YouTube and then we just embed the link.
I really just like how you're able to just upload everything. It's fast and you just highlight it and there it is. One of the teachers was working with me and they accidentally erased something and they said, aha, collaborative and environment. I saved, I said, oh, no problem, great opportunity. Thank you for having this happen. Let's go in, let's go into the revisions. And I showed them how we could bring that back.
Those things, those APIs, putting those into the webpage, adding the chat, adding some of these other APIs that now increase the functionality are just going to make them much more powerful. The other thing is, within an educational setting, some of those things may or may not be appropriate. So you can lock those things down or, you know, use them or not use them, and the administrator of the page has control over that, whereas with some other tools they're kind of wide open and in an educational setting we have to be sensitive to that.
