Wiki in Hawaiian means “quick”. Keeping this in mind, it is useful to think of a media center wiki as a quick resource for users to find information needed for any number of tasks that they may be assigned to. In the article Wikis in the K12 Classroom, the author points out that wikis can be used for “pedagogical, administrative and social goals.” I think that although a wiki can be used for all of these goals, it is important to have a goal in mind in creating a wiki. In Boeninger’s article in Library 2.0, he asserts that the media specialists needs to have a specific reason for creating a wiki before investing in the time and energy and possibly money to create one. If the blog or webpage is working, then you may not try a wiki just because everyone else is doing it. There needs to be a rationale for it. However, with that said, I could see an immediate benefit to using a wiki for a media center.
First, a wiki can usually be searched. This is extremely helpful to the student and teacher shareholders that may be looking for specific content. As the content on the wiki grows, this becomes more and more valuable. According to Boeninger’s article, some of the wiki software available can also give statistics about which information is being looked at most often. This would be helpful in terms of letting the LMS know if more content may be needed on certain topics and if content needs to be dropped.
Second, a wiki can be used as a collaboration tool if it is marketed in the right way to teachers and students. If a media specialist is asked to get materials together for a unit of study, then all of that content could be loaded onto the wiki---booklists with call numbers, websites (pathfinders), videos, etc. Adding the teacher’s resources for the unit would make the wiki invaluable to the student working at home or in the media center on projects. It is one-stop shopping! In collaboration with the teacher, the materials can be added to or culled. The teacher could also add discussion questions that students could respond to on the wiki. The Decatur HS and Westwood School wikis did a fabulous job of integrating student and teacher materials onto the sites. As with any technology, teachers would have to be provided with in-service or some kind of buy in to the technology….it is up to the LMS to make that happen on a school wide basis. Student buy in may be easier because the LMS could use the wiki during lessons in the media center.
Third, if the wiki succeeds in getting shareholders to participate, the wiki becomes a tool that connects the school community in a unique way. Because everyone has the capability to add to it (parents, administrators, counselors, teachers and students), the wiki can promote communication among all of these groups. Again, I think that the LMS would have to be vigilant in getting contributors to join in! I thought that the Apalachee HS wiki used great resources to promote its use---the connection to the news both local and national was a nice touch. In addition, the incorporation of the links to Library Thing and the introduction to the media center video were nice touches.
Again, having a reason to start a wiki is vitally important. If there is no reason, then the wiki is technology for technology’s sake—no benefit. The links and material need to be checked often. Make sure that everything works! The entries also need to be updated…don’t let it just sit there and have entries a year apart. Encourage the wiki’s use!
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I think that wikis can be a great collaboration tool for media specialists and teachers. One of the main obstacles associated with collaboration is the lack of time to meet to discuss needs and plans. With a wiki everyone can have access to all that is going on. Teachers can post needs and curriculum directions and media specialists can take these needs and curriculum directions and plan from them. There can be constant communications between teachers and media specialists without having to meet in person often.
ReplyDeleteYou are certainly right about waiting until you have a good application for your wiki before putting in the time and effort. I get so disappointed when I find someone using new technology, but then I can’t really figure out why they bothered! Like you, I would appreciate the ability to search the wiki content and to get usage statistics. I’ve always put counters on my class webpages to see how many times they were accessed, so I know I would use this feature. It could help me understand if my audience was using the wiki as expected and to find out if I needed to improve the organization or modify the type of content. The one-stop shopping approach is a great way to look at a wiki. I could easily see a group of teachers and the media specialist all working to put web links, documents, pathfinders, rubrics and other information on a wiki. Then, when it is time for the students to work on the project, they go to the wiki to find instructions and all the latest information, and they add their own content as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree. If I take the time and effort to create a wiki or a media center web page, I want to know that it is worth the time and effort. I had a class web page for a couple of years, but I found out that only a handful of parents were using it. I would spend hours working on the web page and advertising it in my newsletter, and still parents did not use it as much as I would have liked.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of one stop shopping. This really would open up new avenues for equal access of all students. This would be invaluable for bust parents, teachers, and students. Units could be developed through a wiki that would allow all parties to collaborate on their own schedule. As a new media specialist I have found that time is the biggest constraint of collaboration. A wiki, if done correctly, could help teachers and media specialist to pull off units that would not normally get done. I believe that a wiki could save valuable time as well as provide useful information to all members.
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