To wiki or not to wiki?

Wikis are sure cool. For educational purposes, it is such a powerful tools for students to write in a much more dynamic fashion, with quick feedback and collaboration. I am quite impressed with what people are doing with wikis, especially those that engage students from all around the world. It also allows students to practice how to give positive, constructive feedback. I noticed a couple of blogs where students rate each other on their feedback, which ensures they take their job seriously. Outside of the classroom, I can see dozens of time-saving ways to use wikis as educational professionals (e.g., writing a mission statement, sharing stats w/ co-teachers, preparing integrated lesson plans).

One thing that is also clear to me with all this new technology is the importance of choosing the tools carefully. There is a temptation to want to pour all the technological bells-and-whistles you can into the classroom, and sometimes a simpler approach is actually more efficient and effective. So, I am thinking a lot about which of these tools is best for each particular application, especially given the time it might take to initiate something and then maintain it.