After completing the readings and exploring the websites this week, I can see many different ways that wikis can be used in the media center. First of all, a wiki seems to be a great idea for a media center webpage. Basic information can be put there, but also links to helpful websites, class wikis etc. The benefit of having a wiki as a web page is that teachers can also help keep it updated. It can be a source for teachers to display student work, post new assignments with links to different documents of websites, form groups for discussion/collaboration, etc. It can also be used as a digital form of a Professional Collection. One of the struggles of the media center is keeping an updated professional collection and getting teachers to use it. I think a wiki would be a great solution. Teachers could access the wiki from any computer (home or school), and it can be easily and collaboratively updated. As a media specialist comes across new articles, they can be linked to the wiki, and as individual teachers come across new articles, great websites, etc. they can add them to the wiki.
Wikis can also be used in the classroom. One idea that I really liked is to use wikis as student portfolios. As our county is focusing on Standards-Based Education, there is focus on displaying student work and providing feedback. Students can upload certain work to the wiki and it is on display for a much larger group of people. The work can also be used as examples for future projects.
As great as wikis sound, there is a drawback- the fact that it can be edited by pretty much anyone. One of the most famous examples of a wiki is Wikipedia. When students do research they are automatically drawn to the Wikipedia site because it seems to have information on every subject. Unfortunately, because it is a wiki, how accurate is the information? Our high school and many colleges prohibit the use of Wikipedia as a source in papers and projects because of the lack of validity of the site. Wikipedia is a large source of information but there isn’t a guarantee as to how accurate it is. The same can be true with any wiki. There is always a chance that information can be changed or deleted, even if done accidentally.
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I really love your idea of using a media center wiki for a professional collection, especially the notion that teachers can add links to articles or important finds they come across for use by other teachers. Articles or lesson plans are easy to find online, and for teachers to post links that would help other department staff or faculty from other schools would be very much appreciated. The media center wiki is a central access point for such materials, and I hope, would make the wiki a fabulous, highly sought-after collaborative tool rather than the dreaded "storage cabinet".
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lisa; a wiki that links to professional resources is a great way for teachers to share ideas, articles, lesson plans, and even resources they might use with their students. The use of a wiki, as opposed to a webpage or blog, is that teachers can contribute with new resources as they find them. This allows the wiki to updated constantly, so that it is always changing instead of becoming static and outdated so that no one wants to use it anymore. A wiki could also serve more than one grade level, school or district, enabling more professionals to contribute not just information that could be used in the classroom, but sources that could be used to further learning beyond the bachelor's level.
ReplyDeleteThe drawback that you mentioned is one that I have concerns with as well. I think using it with other professionals is a great idea, but I am still weary of usingit with my studnets because they can edit other's work and with high school students I take the chance of them doing something unethical or innappropriate. There is a learning curve there for me on how to monitor and scan information before it is posted.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I am a huge fan of wikis. Although I have personally done very little with wikis, I have to admit that I am also a huge fan of all of the potential uses. Sabrina, I thought your suggestions to utilize wikis to compile a digital Professional Collection as well as posting student porfolios were great! One of the features that excite me the most is that you can give teachers contributor rights so that they post information and links directly to the wiki. This feature helps the wiki to serve a collaborative function for media specialists. Despite there being concern that just about anyone can edit a wiki, the ability to contribute information and in turn collaborate at any hour of the day far outweigh the concern in my opinion. Working as the wiki facilitator, the media specialist can minimize this concern by monitoring and editing inappropriate or inaccurate information through a form of digital weeding of materials. This would help to increasing the amount of cyber collaboration between the teacher and media specialist while also managing the information posted within the wiki.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading you post I began to think of how a wiki could also be used in a grade level. As we are all going to standards based we are constantly looking for ideas to help teach the standards that are being placed in front of us. I know as a first grade teacher we are contantly emailing each other with different website or idea to teach a different concept. With a wiki everyone could contribute and then that would cut out having to email each person with new ideas. Just add to wiki and there you go. The same with a media center wiki there could be numerous links to resources that would help the teachers.
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