By: Sharon Folds
Wikis are the ultimate worktable among group members on the internet. It is a web page that can be viewed and modified by any user. This provides both amazing flexibility and some risk. Since the wiki is web based, users can access the information from any internet access. This ease of access also opens the door to risk. Users can modify information with little or no oversight.
Media centers are beginning to utilize wikis in various ways. With the reduction in staff, wikis can be designed to answer many of the basic questions stakeholders might have.
· Research: A wiki can be designed to answer basic research questions, link users to available resources, and provide information on sighting sources. During the research process, students can utilize a wiki to work on the project. This enables teachers to monitor their work easily, and students can easily collaborate on the project.
· Homework Help: Another wiki might be organized by subject area and provide links to websites for homework help.
· College: A wiki can be created to provide a guide for students through the process of selecting, applying, and attending college. This would be a useful resource for both the students and their parents.
· Technical Support: A wiki can be created to help manage technical issues within the school. A portion of the wiki can be designated for user manuals and trouble shooting, while another portion might be designated for requesting services.
· Classroom Collaboration: While collaborating with teachers, the media specialist might create a wiki for a specific topic to provide information and links for teachers. After completion, the wiki can be easily incorporated into the classroom lesson plan.
· Training: Wikis are also an excellent method to provide training for teachers or extended staff.
Training and promotion are keys to the success of wikis. First, stakeholders must be trained on how to access and utilize wikis. This can be done within the media center utilizing multiple forms of training, such as classes, podcasts, wikis, and handouts. Promotion of available wikis can be done on the school web page, through newsletters, and in mini-lessons. As with any form of information, media specialists need to assure all stakeholders are aware and familiar with all forms of information.
One of the greatest appeals of wikis, the ease of use and amazing flexibility, can also be considered one of its greatest weaknesses. Multiple users can access, modify, and delete existing information. This level of access can lead to concerns regarding accuracy and lack of standardization and organization. Policy and procedures can help avoid many of these problems.
Your suggestion for schools using a wiki as a technology help tool is a great idea. My school district has an intranet program that allows teachers to post information and many teachers/IT/media specialists use this forum to post technology tip sheets. However, as with anything technology, the posted information can quickly become outdated. Unless the orginal poster goes back and fixes the information, the incorrect information will remain on the intranet. A wiki could be a great solution to this problem. Any teacher who notices incorrect information about a technoloby fix could simply update the information. I believe the use of technology wiki could benefit the many schools in Georgia who no longer have IT support due to budget cuts.
ReplyDeleteYou made an excellent point when you mentioned that media specialists should look at wikis as a form of information and that they should educate their stakeholders on accessing and utilizing wikis. Media specialists must help students understand how to navigate the world of wikis just the same as they would help a student understand how to read an atlas.
I like the way you mention utilization of wikis as a resource in the face of reduction in media center staff (most likely due to budget cuts). It seems more important now than ever to make the most and best uses of the tools that are available to us – especially when these tools tend to be cost-effective and dynamic in the ways they can be used. A wiki is an affordable tool that can be used for student activities in the classroom, curriculum development between teachers and media specialists, communication between teachers and media specialists, and so much more. Viewing such useful tools as wikis, blogs, and podcasts in light of recent economic hardship certainly helps to see the value of these tools more clearly.
ReplyDeleteThere are some very good ideas for using wikis in the media provided here. I like the ideas of using the wiki to not only conduct research, but to use it to review and research college ideas is a wonderful option. This would make for a very unique assignment/resource for eighth graders at my middle school who are bound for high school. It is never too late to begin the research process, and it would provide these students with the opportunity to begin to understand what the process is all about. Training is an absolute necessity, no matter the level of the user. Students will need to know how to properly access and submit information correctly on the wiki page as well as understand the importance of providing accurate and timely information as a resource to potential users. The possibilities are endless for schools as they consider the numerous ways the wiki can enhance learning and communication school wide.
ReplyDeleteYou offer some great ideas on different ways that you can use a wiki. The one that stood out most to me was the idea of using a wiki for researching information. This would allow the user to access the information needed anywhere there is a computer with internet access. They could work on their research in the classroom, in the media center, or at home. This would also allow parents to see what their child is working on and what the requirements are for that assignment. One of the biggest benefits is the ability of the teachers to monitor work. We all know when it comes to group or partner assignments the work load is often uneven. If the students are using a wiki, the teacher can see which students are doing the work and which ones aren’t.
ReplyDeleteUsing a wiki for homework help is a great idea too. If teachers use the wiki and update it regularly the students could use it as a reference when completing their homework assignments. This could be very beneficial in a subject like math. The teacher could post the classroom lesson highlights onto the wiki and then the students could refer to it at home while working on their homework.