Did you know that “wiki wiki” means quickly in Hawaiian? And staying with the wiki theme, Wikipedia defines a wiki as “a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language.” It was developed by Ward Cunningham and defined as the “simplest online database that could possibly work.” (http://www.wikipedia.org/) Personally I would define a wiki as a type of open source software that allows multiple people to add, edit, and share information.
How to Use Wikis in the Media CenterStrategies for using wikis in the media center are endless. They are free and fairly simple to use by even the most novice web 2.0 user. Wiki’s can be used for research, collaboration and organization.
Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl: Reading teachers are each assigned a book over the summer from the Georgia Book Award Nominees. Each reading teacher submits questions at the beginning of the year about the book they read. Students are able to access the wiki from the school website to prepare for mini competitions and the teachers have a database of questions.
Decatur High School: Uses wikis to organize research by creating pathfinders. Teachers can easily share sites that have educational value. One of the wiki pages was designed to only show magazine, journal or encyclopedia articles from databases. I thought this was a great way for teachers to share quality articles. I think it would be a good idea to create something similar for professional development.
http://dhs.wikispaces.com/
Amy Bowllan: A teacher created this site as a lesson plan for The Mzumgu Boy. The site utilizes a variety of web 2.0 tools and is ultimately a mashup. It contains You Tube videos on animal life and education life in Africa. There are questions for each chapter including vocabulary with a link to locate the definition. Also, links to places in Africa and finally a recipe for making Ugali, similar to polenta. It is a great guide for groups of students to create something similar for literature circles. http://themzunguboy.wetpaint.com/
Strengths and Weaknesses:
Wiki’s, in my opinion, were not developed for creative banter and comments for users to respond too, but rather for organizational purposes. And as with many technology tools there are strengths and weaknesses of the wiki. I personally have enjoyed using them in my media courses as well as in the classroom. Recently, I made a “Honey Do” wiki for my husband. Although he didn’t find it as amusing as I did, it has certainly accomplished the goal!
Though they are not perfect, I find they do have a place in education. The biggest weakness I find is that they are too structured. I may be unaware of some of the creative aspects of wiki’s, but to me they act more like a “table” in which information can be shared. One of the best uses I have found is for the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl. I mentioned earlier that teachers can easily input their questions into a nice, neat table to share with students and organize questions for mock competitions. Below are a list of strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths
· Web based and updated automatically
· Collaborative – creates networks
· Flexibility of access
· Can remain anonymous (kids)
· Encourage peer teaching
· Free and fairly simple
Weaknesses:
· Too much structure
· Non-contributing pupils may hide lack of involvement
· Unequal access in diverse student community
http://mrwrights.blogspot.com/2011/04/analysis-of-wikis-as-education-tools.html
Interesting:
http://www.wikalong.org/ A wiki-margin for the internet that corresponds to the current page you a are viewing.
Kim,
ReplyDeleteYour simple and personal definition of a WIKI being a " type of open source software that allows multiple people to add, edit, and share information." is exactly on point and exactly describes how it should be used.
You have some excellent local resources for us to learn from on how to integrate them into our curriculum. I especially like the fact that you gave us a personal reference with your "honey do" wiki, I am sure he loved that!
I have yet to use the wiki in the classroom because I always looked at them as boring and and not as fun compared to the web site or blogging tools that make everything seem so fancy.
Your explanation has allowed me to see the practical use for a Wiki and I would like to take the time to develop one for my theater use based on your recommendations and examples. Thank you for sharing and informing us about the Pros and Cons to wikis in the classroom.
Barry
Kim,
ReplyDeleteI particularly like the balanced approach you take in discussing wikis - addressing both the advantages and the disadvantages. I think understanding both is critical to deciding when, if, and how to use wikis. And deciding on medium - wiki, blog, whatever - is one of the challenges we face as media specialists/educators. When choosing a medium, we need to consider a host of factors - we need to know what's out there, understand the nature/limitations of the various resources (wiki/blog?), weigh our options, determine which resource(s) best suit our needs, evaluate costs/benefits, etc.
Wikis seem to serve media centers best as repositories of information or resources. Blogs appear to be a better means of discussion and dialog. Depending on the purpose/media center, both may to have a place.
Thanks for helping me think through this topic.
Liz
I did not know that wiki meant hello in Hawaiian! I loved the information about the Reading Bowl. That is something I want to become more involved with. I can tell my wife that my incessant reading is merely practice for competition! I would have never considered the link between wikis and the Reading Bowl.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you pointed out that there are strengths and weakness to all technology; it seems that many are looking for a silver bullet.
However, I think that your wiki for a “honey do” list is mean and underhanded. I may not introduce my wife to wikis now (: )). Husbands beware! That being said, I do plan to try them out for classes soon.
Great post!
Blake
Kim,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pieces of humor and the cute title on your post! (My husband doesn’t know how good he has it.) I appreciated that you gave your own definition of a wiki in addition to the ones you researched. I also found your format, use of bullets, and choice of font very easy to read. It makes me want to go back and change my blog post. Your point about unequal access in diverse student communities is a good one. It is easy to forget that not everyone is fortunate enough to even have internet access for all these wonderful technologies we are investigating. I read that the public library is the number one place of access for people who lack it at home. Yet funding for public libraries is in a dismal state. At the library where I used to work, positions are not getting filled when someone leaves. In the Cobb County Public Library system, the budget has been slashed and political fights must constantly be waged in order to even keep branches from closing altogether. Thanks also for your great examples of ways to use wikis. Your point about a weakness of wikis lacking creative tools is right on. I just checked our classroom wiki and could not find any drawing tools or other creative ways of inputting things besides a few images. It does seem to be mostly text based. I like your book border though!
Good job pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of a wiki. This class is the first time that I have used a wiki and I have found some things that I like about them and some that I do not. The most appealing thing about a wiki, is that it is free! With today’s economy and all the budget cuts, this is a great free resource to use in the classroom or the media center. Thanks for the websites and the different ideas of using wikis, I especially enjoyed reading about the Reading Bowl.
ReplyDelete-Rebecca
I love that you shared some great examples of how wikis have been used in the classroom and media centers. I teach in an elementary school setting and I think the ease and simple structure of using a wiki would be a great tool for teacher/student or student/student collaboration. It would even be a great resource for letting parents get involved with what is going on in the classroom. As students get older and more experienced with using wikis and similar technologies, they might prefer something with more creative freedom. But, for something basic and easy to use, a wiki could be the way to go.
ReplyDelete