The webinar today got me thinking about the various kinds of web 2.0 media and how much they can be changed by the instructor and/or the learner. When the learner can edit their comments, they can alter what the instructor perceives to be their skill level. It's important that the program used will be able to record edits either publicly or privately.
More dangerously, learners might alter the instructional materials accidentally or maliciously. Most mediums come with protection against this (passwords and user alerts, for instance), but I've seen Google Docs ruined by users who make a simple mistake in a shared Excel spreadsheet. Material hosted by a larger server or company has to be protected as well lest a Facebook crash delete all of your work.
Good insight, Doug. Most tools come with some form of history or version control, and if you let students know that they will be less likely to create problematic edits. However, this issue of what to control and how (and how much) to control it as an instructor is something that we all have to grapple with when using Web 2.0 tools. Sometimes it's just not a good instructional choice to open things up in this way. Other times, it's a great choice! And if we clearly communicate our high expectations to learners, they'll often rise to the challenge and exceed our expectations. :)
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