Today, Open Culture reports that Google has launched the beta version of its new content initiative, Knol. For you staunch decriers of Wikipedia out there, this news could be potentially good and bad. Educators might think of Knol as a more credible resource than Wikipedia because it caters to the individual author/expert, not to the wisdom of crowds. Each encyclopedia entry is generally written, edited, and revised by one individual. However, Wikipedia’s collaborative approach is not being entirely abandoned; thus, modernist pedagogues might think of it as a slippery slope.

According to Open Culture, Google’s model leaves ample room for collaborative writing. It keeps open the possibility that multiple authors will write an encyclopedia entry. The initiative also allows for “moderated collaboration” — meaning that “any reader can make suggested edits to a knol which the author may then choose to accept, reject, or modify before these contributions become visible to the public.” Collaboration is built into Google’s model. It’s just not taken to an extreme conclusion.