What is a wiki? A wiki is a website that can be viewed and modified by anybody with a web browser and access to the internet.
Where are wikis found? Wikis reside on the internet.
When are wikis used? Wikis are most commonly used for teaching and learning in schools and higher education institutions. They are also used in corporations as well as by individuals.
Why use wikis? Wikis are used for developing content specific web sites that provide collaborative and flexible communication among its users.
Wiki is a Hawaiian word used as an alternative for quick. Wikipedia defines a wiki as "a web application which allows collaborative modification, extension, or deletion of its content and structure." Ward Cunningham developed the first wiki software and described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki).
Wikis in the Media Center
Apalachee High School (AHS) Media Center's wiki encourages online collaboration among the media specialists, teachers and students. The AHS Media Center web page connects three separate media sites:
ahsmedia.barrow.wikispaces.net is a collaborative wikispace that requires a membership to a private domain maintained by the Barrow County School District
ahsinfo.wikispaces.com is a public wikispace reserved as an archive of links and resources
ahsinfo.edublogs.org is a public blog to showcase new links and resources
Wikis in the Classroom
Amy Bowllan, a teacher who created an online lesson plan for the book, The Mzungu Boy, designed the lesson plan as a wiki. The students are able to use the wiki to research, outline, draft and edit a collaborative project on the book. They can also organize articles, site links, videos and other resources. Users can discuss the book and share papers for peer feedback. The link to the website is themzunguboy.wetpaint.com
Most effective use of wikis
Wikis are ideal for group projects that require collaboration. They allow users to contribute and share information and ideas, learn new information from one another, ask questions, and to be actively involved in the brainstorming, planning, creating and editing of a project. Users are able to upload documents, link to web pages, and insert audio clips, files, images, and videos to share with the group. All of the resources that are collected form the group members can be edited by anyone and stored on the wiki until someone deletes them.
Drawback to wikis
One drawback to using wikis is that all of the information that is posted can be edited and deleted by anyone that is a member. Another drawback is that the information provided may not be accurate.
Strengths of wikis
- Always accessible (if you have internet)
- Collaborative tool
- Creates networks
- Free
- Instantaneous
- User-friendly
- Web based
Weaknesses of wikis
- Can be edited by anyone
- Confidentiality and quality concerns
- Plagiarism and copyright issues
- Require access to internet (not everyone has access and sometimes internet connectivity is down)
- Too structured
- Disorganized information due to flexibility of the structure
Keeping wikis active
Some people see wikis as being nothing more than "storage cabinets." Wikis have been around a while however, they are fairly new to me. Up until now, I have not had much experience with wikis. I have stumbled across a few wiki sites when I was a classroom teacher looking for ideas for lessons and found a few to be resourceful but most of them were useless. I can see how wikis could easily be forgotten and end up providing outdated information and inactive links. Contributors and users of wikis must stay informed, involved and interested to continue ongoing collaboration. Advertisements, announcements and emails reminding members to contribute along with providing incentives for those who contribute are a few ways to keep wikis active.
References:
7 things you should know about...Wikis (2005). Retrieved January 27, 2015 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7004.pdf
Apalachee High School Media Center's Wiki. Retrieved January 27, 2015 from http://ahsmedia.barrow.wikispaces.net
Bowllan, A (2008). A Wiki Gives a Worthy Book New Like. School Library Journal, 54(9), 20.
Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki. Retrieved January 27, 2015 from http://www.libsuccess.org/Main_Page
"Wikis," from the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved January 27, 2015 from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/wikis/
Wikis are a great tool! It is not the easiest tool to edit with but it is basic enough that most people can figure it out. What I really like is that by creating pages, different people can work on it at the same time and if there is ever a goof up then you can revert back to a previous version of your page without disrupting others.
ReplyDeleteI learned to create a wiki in MEDT 7474 (Reference) . I worked with a team and each of us worked on our parts. This worked out great except each person's page looked different so if you're looking for uniformity then that has to be specified at the beginning.
As a media specialist, I plan to use wikis to share library resources with teachers. It's one way I can collaborate with them.
You have some great information. I really like the way you summed it all up in your “Keeping wikis active”. Until I took the Reference class in this Media Specialist Program I had not been exposed to Wikis. Being able to actually work in one and make the pathfinder was a great experience. But on that note, I wonder what will happen to the pathfinders. The SLMS at an elementary school wants me to send her the one we worked on for 5th grade Social Studies, but will it be updated or just used as it is? I agree with you that reminders should be sent out to update the information. Hopefully that would keep the Wiki more current.
ReplyDeleteThe five “W’s” always seem to get our attention. The fact that you started off with this analogy puts my mind into learn mode. By showing who can use it, you opened the door for spectating. By defining it, you let us know its capabilities. Its internet based so it’s accessible from any device that can get to the World Wide Web. It can be used in our schools, homes, businesses and institutions. You noted they are a good form of connecting people and information together. So why not use something that’s fresh, new and innovating in our media centers to get our students and staff involved. Of course you covered the fact that there are drawbacks, but with anything there is the possibility of misuse and abuse. However, overall I think wikis can be the source that keeps information flowing in our educational system.
ReplyDeleteThis is a lot of great information about wikis. I do not have much experience with wikis, so I still appreciate the general "what, who, when, why" type of facts. The one thing I do like about wikis is that they are easily accessible and can foster collaborative group work. Rather than everyone passing around a thumb drive for working on a project, a wiki is a tool that each group member can have access to, and can work on it from home on their own time. I also like that the teacher, or wiki administrator can see who completed what work. This can help alleviate one or two group members doing all of the work. My biggest concern with using wikis for information is knowing how reliable the information is. So, I believe there are some projects where wikis can be perfect "go-to" places and some not so much.
ReplyDeleteI loved the way some media centers use wikis for students to present and share information about literature. I think this is a great way to get students involved and excited about reading. The use of wikis is not as common in elementary schools, at least not in the elementary schools in my area, but this is one way that our media center could begin to incorporate wikis. I think the students would love to participate, and the parents would love to see their own kids' work. Students of all ages LOVE technology, so why not provide various ways for them to use it? :)
I love the way you presented your information. Seeing the strengths and weaknesses of using wiki can help others decide if it is the right tool for the right project. Wikis are definitely a good collaboration tool and if used the right way and for the right purpose can be effective. I do see how it can easily become a "storage cabinet" of information if not updated and used frequently. I am still trying to get my bearings on wikis but the way you presented the information is very helpful!!
ReplyDeleteI have not been very familiar with wikis and you were able to answer all my questions in the strengths and weaknesses section of your blog. I would be very hesitant to start a wiki because of the confidentiality and validity they would lack when trying to maintain it. I think they can be useful in a controlled environment but that is tough with almost anyone being able to gain access.
ReplyDeleteHaving the ability to collaborate on a project using a wiki is very convenient and allows for ease of access as long as internet connection is available. Other than that I too do not feel that wikis are very useful. I think the cons out way the pros with wikis, especially in the elementary environment in which I teach. I have investigated a few wiki pages and more than often question their validity. Great job on your blog. Very informative!
Well,I am a little embarrassed to admit, I had not thought of a Wiki in the media center, but once I started reading this article, I frantically started jotting ideas to create a Wiki for my library. I love the idea of using a Wiki for book reviews. Why had I not thought of that?! Also, adding lessons related to books for teachers would get them started using and hopefully adding to the Wiki. I most definitely will have a section for suggestions on books to purchase. I am always having students jot down little notes with book titles but sticking those in a folder is not the best way to keep up with those ideas. The idea that students become more comfortable and interested in ideas presented and that they can respond to electronically is definitely a reason to use Wiki.
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ReplyDeleteI’m in the same boat as you. I’m not that familiar or comfortable with wikis. The few that times that I have used them, the information was outdated, misinformed, or just plain wrong and confusing. As I read through several articles, I discovered that they can have a beneficial place in the classroom and the media center as well if used correctly. Wikis provide teachers with a great opportunity to allow collaboration and communication among many students in their classroom as well as outside. Teachers can use it as tool to communicate with their students and easily edit and update information as needed. Teachers can have students solve math problems and even create a debate team of different subject material. As for the media specialist, their use can be endless. They can help assist teachers in the classroom by finding relevant information or helping to get things set up. They can also share school wide events on a wiki. Students can be allowed to help edit and add to the information. I can see wikis having a place in education as long as adults remember that with any technology monitor and assist as needed.
I believe our experiences are similar in that I have not used Wikis that much either, outside of Wikipedia. I do find the overall concept to be an intriguing option for collaborative work in a teacher to teacher, teacher to student or a student to student format. Students working together in any arrangement can be an uncomfortable process for them. Perhaps the use of a Wiki will ease these steps, especially since they are online already! Suggestions for maintaining an active Wiki site were spot on. How often do we click on a link only to find that it doesn’t exist anymore? We feel like we are wasting our time and we most certainly do not have TIME for that. This tool is useful but it will require some dedicated individuals to keep the momentum going.
ReplyDeleteI believe our experiences are similar in that I have not used Wikis that much either, outside of Wikipedia. I do find the overall concept to be an intriguing option for collaborative work in a teacher to teacher, teacher to student or a student to student format. Students working together in any arrangement can be an uncomfortable process for them. Perhaps the use of a Wiki will ease these steps, especially since they are online already! Suggestions for maintaining an active Wiki site were spot on. How often do we click on a link only to find that it doesn’t exist anymore? We feel like we are wasting our time and we most certainly do not have TIME for that. This tool is useful but it will require some dedicated individuals to keep the momentum going.
ReplyDeleteI think the way you introduced your information was very attention grabbing. The first thing you see is the questions that students are asked to use when they are researching or exploring something that they do not know anything about a topic.
ReplyDeleteI would have never known that Wiki was a Hawaiian word until you mentioned it. I thought the examples of how Wikis are used in areas such as the Media center or classroom gave great examples of how they can be utilized for schools and even certain companies. I will keep the information given in the future when I become a media specialist in a school.
The information you presented about wikis reminded me of how wikis could be used in my own classroom. I am a 4th grade teacher and I am planning on creating pathfinder wikis this summer for my students. Wikis can be used as a "safe haven" for students to research information about our Social Studies units of study (Native Americans, American Revolution, Colonial America, etc.). As a future media specialist, I can see how wikis would provide students with easy access to research information and materials located in the media center and public library. What a great way to collaborate with other teachers and support the local public library. To me, creating wikis are a must!
ReplyDeleteAfter learning exactly what a Wiki is and how it can be used, I can definitely see the benefits of creating a Wiki. As part of my job, I gather information for teachers to use in their daily lessons. It would be a great idea for me to create a Wiki to post resources for each grade level to use. This way it could be open for all teachers to add resources throughout the year. I definitely think this would be helpful for new teachers. I would have loved having a central location to find some key resources that other teachers in my school were using when I started teaching many years ago:) I think one of the trickiest parts will be to make sure it stays current and up to date.
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