Library 2.0 mentions 3 main ways that Wikis are used:
internal communication, institutional collaboration, and as a research guide.
Internal communication: this is a way to keep your
departments communicating and working together in a constant flow. In the media
center this could be useful between the media specialist and the staff. There
could be a category in the Wiki where teachers could keep a list of materials
they would like to see ordered, or materials that they use for units so that the
media specialist would already know what materials are needed and could have
them ready. Lessons could also be kept here in an extra effort to help with
collaboration, since this is something that seems to be difficult to do in many
situations.
Institutional collaboration: This is especially helpful for
larger counties that have multiple schools and locations. This will help the
media specialists and teachers communicate effectively and constantly. Since I am from a very small community with
only 2 schools (soon to be 1) this would help me mostly keep in communication
with the public library about programs and even books that I may need (since
our system does not allow for interlibrary loans with the public library)
A Research Guide: This is the use that I found the most fascinating.
I have never thought of this before but the media specialist can create research
categories and add websites and projects for students. Since it is a Wiki
teachers can go on and add sites or take down sites that are no longer in use,
add topics etc… This will keep the research guide up to date and useful for our
students.
Lastly, I thought a wiki would be a great place for students
to go and add book reviews and have ongoing conversations about books they are
reading. We have stated constantly how for students to care about reading they
need to feel invested. This would be a great platform to allow them to have an
opinion that others will read and comment on.
Finally, as I also read about a site called Wiki Index in Library 2.0. It was
suggested that if you were thinking about creating a Wiki to go and look here
there are tons of wikis that are here for you to become a part of and practice
with that have been created about just about any topic. www.wikiindex.com.
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the three ways Wikis are presented in Library 2.0. I think that these are great points and I, like you, like the thought of using Wikis as research guides. This would be a great way for a media specialist to continually add or take away information so that students have the most up to date resources.
Another Wiki post that I responded to noted another use for Wikis that I thought as also unique, and that was to use them as a teacher portfolio. Basically, instead of keeping paper files on students progress, teachers can use a Wiki to capture students work. This enables students to participate using 2.0 tools, and is also beneficial to the teacher, as the work is saved in one place and can be accessed anywhere.
Danielle,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated how you outlined the three major ways to use Wikis. You reworded Library 2.0 really well and I fully understood it all! I loved your idea about students using Wikis to share book reviews. I liked the fact that at the end you included a website that can help people start a Wiki. I am a person that needs to see an example before I can begin a project and that was very helpful.
There are several great uses for the wiki. I loved your mention of how the media specialist could set it up for teachers to post what materials they were interested in for lessons and how students could share book reviews with others. It does have a lot of good possibilities. I think that since it is an open sharing/collaborating platform that it would be important to have some quick lessons on respecting other students or faculty when they add new items. Because it would be easy to delete or make changes. I think that keeping it updated would be the most time consuming, only because it isn't really like a social network such as facebook or twitter so you would have to check in and see how the wiki is doing. I am new to wiki so I will have to practice a little more to see if this is something I think I would use.
ReplyDelete