Blog 2: Oh the Wiki

Blog 2: Wikis

Melissa Campbell

            Wikis are a flexible tool that allows users the opportunity to collaborate over the internet easily and efficiently. Wikis are websites where content can be created, manipulated, and edited from multiple users at any given time. There are many factors that need to be considered when bringing wikis into the media center. I feel that high school students would be able to manipulate and benefit from them. In an elementary school I feel they would be a little more difficult to implement, because more instruction and support is needed on a larger scale.

Courtney (2007) discusses a few items that need to be taken into consideration before a media center wiki is established. Her first item is what came to my mind right away when presented with the question should we use wikis in the media center? Is a wiki really needed, or are we establishing one because everyone else is? If there is a specific purpose for a wiki that has been expressed by the media center then I think it is a good idea. If there is not a clear purpose or goal then I think a wiki is not necessary. Even if a school does not have their own personal media center wiki students and staff can still access and use popular wikis to benefit instruction.

Wikis are used most effectively when a clear goal and purpose have been established. When you have multiple people accessing a wiki it is important to have a set of guidelines in place for the success of the wiki. In the article 7 Things You Should Know About…Wikis (2005) it shares that wikis may be the easiest web based form of collaboration. It is shown that collaboration is a key component to student success. Wikis allow immediate access to materials and you can clearly see the progression from start to finish. As long as the guidelines for running the wiki are clear then it will be more successful for the media center.

The main drawback I see to a media center wiki is one of its most positive qualities, the ability for anyone to edit the material on the wiki. While this quality is why many people use and love the wiki when trying to establish a wiki for a school media center there are certain risks involved. It would be important to monitor the wiki frequently to maintain any inappropriate or incorrect material. This can be a very time consuming and nerve racking task. In a media center it would make sense to establish a selected group that would have controlled access to the wiki. Therefore not just anyone could access and change the material.  

When looking through the uses of wikis I find they are most useful for internal communication. Whether it be a media team, classroom teachers, or a small group project collaboration a wiki is a perfect site to use when sharing ideas and communicating internally. I thought Courtney’s (2007) thoughts about library wikis being set up as a platform for resource services is another great purpose.  If a wiki is not maintained properly then it can be a detriment to a library site.

I can see how wikis can turn into a dumping ground for work. Rather a very large online filling cabinet. When a wiki is established for collaboration someone needs to institute how the material is going to be organized to meet the needs of the users. It is just like creating the layout for a website. You want it to be easy to follow and use. Wikis can be beneficial when a clear purpose and goal is established, along with an organized plan for caring out the shared material.

Courtney, N. (Ed.). (2007). Library 2.0 and beyond: Innovative technologies and

tomorrow’s user. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

 Educause Learning Initiative. (2005, July). 7 things you should know about wikis. Retrieved

February 17, 2013, from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7004.pdf

Wiki’s; bad news, good news, and how students feel?

The asynchronous properties make wikis a wonderful choice to establishing communication and share with colleagues, students, and even friends.  There is good news and bad news about wikis as with most technology.

Bad news…

·         Some training is needed if you have never worked with wikis before.

·         Since it is, essentially an open website for all to use that can present problems.  As easy, as it is to place things on a wiki as it is to delete entries by anyone.

·         Wikis need to be monitored for inappropriate language, spam, and/or incorrect or irrelevant content.

·         You have to consider the bias of the group who are contributors of the wiki.

·         Information found on wikis are not always reliable, due to the fact that anyone can contribute and you don’t know their level of expertise like in Wikipedia.

·         Wikis can be blocked by Internet filters.

Wheeler, Yeomans, & Wheeler (2008) researched The good, the bad and the wiki; Evaluating student-generated content for collaborative learning.  In their findings, they mention many frustrations students experienced when dealing with wikis.  Some felt that wikis were too unstructured and they actually wanted more boundaries.  Many students only added to their wiki only when in class, leaving just a few contributors actually doing most of the work.  In the wiki environment, the users know each other and worry about their contributions,  they do not want to be criticized or judged, and fear that other will make changes to their contributions.

Good news…

·         Extensive webpage building knowledge is not needed to build or participate in wikis.  With a few views of videos from YouTube.com and you can be on your way to creating your very own webpage without a cost. 

·         You do not need to know HTML codes.

·         You can give users with author and editor privileges, which helps with not allowing deletions.  The wiki for Medt 7477 is set up that way, only Dr. Cooper has editing privileges. 

·         Editing and making additions are in real time, there is no wait.

·         It is a repository, a mail system, and a collaboration tool.  It will allow audio, video, word documents, and projects like PowerPoint to be housed in the ‘Cloud’.

·         It can serve as an archiving tool for artifacts in the ‘wiki-folio’.

·         It can be used as a presentation tool.

·         Can be assessed anywhere you have Internet access. 

·         Wikis can be a great student led collaborative tool, which works well as students being producers, commentators and classifiers of their own learning (Horizon, 2007).

Students who work in a social environment develop skills that help them learn to evaluate information critically (DfES, 2006).  Wheeler, Yeomans, & Wheeler (2008) researched The Good, the Fad and the Wiki; Evaluating student-generated content for collaborative learning.  In their findings, they mention many frustrations students experienced when dealing with wikis.  Some felt that wikis were too unstructured and they actually wanted more boundaries.  While initially students may be fearful of making contributions in a wiki, this is a good place for them to develop confidence a needed skill when entering college or a working environment.  Learning to take advice and criticism is a skill all need to be successful in life.  Collaboration is a valuable skill we as teachers need to teach our students and as they learn they practice critical thinking, the art of negotiation, and how to exchange ideas.

Resources:

DfES. (2006). 2020Vision—Report of the Teaching and Learning in 2020 Review Group. Nottingham: DfES Publications.  Retrieved February 16, 2013 from: http://www.teachfind.com/national-strategies/2020-vision-report-teaching-and-learning-review-group

Horizon Report (2007). The Horizon Report 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2007, from http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2007_Horizon_Report.pdf]

Jurkowski, Odin. (2010). Technology and the School Library. Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.

Wheeler, Steve. (2009). The good, the bad and the wiki: Evaluating student-generated content for collaborative learning. British Journal Educational Technology. Retrieved February 17, 2013 from:  http://www.slideshare.net/timbuckteeth/the-good-the-bad-and-the-wiki-1173601   

A Great Product for all ages...

Podcasting is a great way for any teacher who has a desktop or laptop to allow students a variety of ways to differentiate with product. The free program Audacity make it easy and most laptops have built in microphones and cameras. Teaching students as early as Kindergarten is feasible. When listening to the podcast produced by Willowcast at Radio Willoweb, they broadcast lower elementary students podcasts. I like how they were posted to the web making their casts authentic and available to all who wish to listen.

Fontichiaro (2007) gives a variety of uses for podcasting. One tool I like is having students record their writing. For years, I have used "sayback" (the reading of your rough draft to another person or small group) as one tool to help students hear what they have written so they can hear their mistakes. Using podcasts allows even the shyest student the advantage of hearing their words and in turn hear their mistakes as they listen to what they have written. I also like the idea of having older students read lower level books for podcasts that can be used with kindergarten or other struggling readers. This is much less expensive than buying books on tape or mp3 players. Allowing 4th to 6th grade readers read lower level books for podcasting is great to help them develop their oral reading fluency, oral expression, and public speaking. I used “kindergarten buddies” 25 years ago for that purpose and now they can make recording easily to develop a wonderful listening library for their school. This too is an authentic product.

Nancy Keane's podcasts are good examples of book talks; I would have liked them better the music was a little less eerie. Her voice was interesting with the first few I listened to but then it started sounding redundant. I skipped half way down and the music and voice was still the same.

The Inexpensive Integration of Podcasting into the Modern School and Media Center

Podcasting offers innovative opportunities to educators, especially school media specialists and teachers. Oftentimes, some critics wonder, if such technology will remain cost effective or necessary for their school programs.  Mostly, administrators may point to the cost video broadcasting equipment or higher grade computing devices. In one sense, this notion is true, that such equipment does come at a pricey expense. Although, investing in such video technology could do wonders for a building-level community (school).

Fontichiaro (2007) states in her article that podcasting equipment is (and remains) very inexpensive:

"...PC users with operating systems of Windows 98 or later can buy a combination microphone/headphone set for less than $10 and download the Audacity recording software for free (see Useful Websites). Mac users will need a more expensive USB microphone with the price starting at around $40. The Audacity software is available for Mac users with OS 9 or later. They can also use the fun and full-featured Garage Band that ships with new Mac computers. Lectures can be recorded with a wireless lapel microphone that costs around $150 and allows lecturers to move about the classroom while their presentations are recorded by the computer. Audio recording accessories such as these can turn newer-model iPods into portable recording studios.

    If finances, however, prevent an equipment purchase, set up a free account with gabcast.com. Call Gabcast's toll-free number and leave a voice mail. After you review what has been recorded, Gabcast turns your message into an audio file online -- an instant podcast! It will even post it to your blog."

Podcasting presents opportunities that allow students to learn lessons at their own pace and own leisure. For example, a teacher may present a new topic in class, and some students could struggle with the meaning, concept, or understanding of the material.  Teachers could utilize podcasting by creating CDs or sound files with little mini activities that demonstrate the topic in a way that students can grasp a better understanding of the classroom topic. 

Podcasting can also be used for collaboration between teachers, administrators, and media specialists.  At times, media specilaist may find it difficulties collaborating with their fellow teachers, and discussing issues of the media center (or vice versa) or educating teachers on new technologies that may become present in the library or school.  Media specialist could create podcasting archives to send to individual teachers

I first learned how to Podcast in tech class over five years ago.  It was the hardest class I have ever had.  Now I have my students create podcasts with book talks or bookfomercials.  It is so much easier and with free programs like Audacity I have taught even first grade gifted students how to podcast.

Podcasting & the media center

Here we are in 2013, and podcasting first appeared in print in 2004! Who would’ve thought that it had been around for such a long time? As the years progress, the use of podcasting has become more commonplace and more and more areas are using the podcast capability. Even though it’s name is a combination of iPod and broadcasting, it doesn’t require a specific brand of equipment to make it work. 

There are many avenues which podcasts can be used within the library/media arena. Our textbook, Library 2.0 and beyond by Nancy Courtney gives many examples of these. Student scavenger hunts seem like a great one to use with students and could be used to teach the different areas/layout of the media center. Book Talks will always be one of the most entertaining and gratifying uses of podcasts to media specialists. What other way can a media specialist discuss a book and toot its horn and reach so many students at once? The idea of podcasting regularly a book within the media center to encourage a series or author seems so wonderful. I know that elementary students are always asking for recommendations, and I think the idea of placing a podcast on a website, maybe weekly, recommending new material would do wonders for circulation of a particular kind. Since the common core requires genre knowledge, maybe breaking down podcasts monthly to a certain genre and giving examples and book talks about certain books would encourage students to try different ones than they might normally attempt. 

I also like the idea of using podcasting as a story time. So often in today’s classrooms, the teachers and the media specialist are so busy that they might not have time to bring their students to the media center only for story-time. If podcasting were available for students to listen to the reading of a library book this could be done in the classroom during a ‘center’ activity, and it would allow students to still hear adults read. I believe that in today’s world that adults are often too busy to read to their children and not enough students hear reading aloud. Hearing reading aloud is so important to children and helps them develop the nuances of public reading (the pauses, the voice inflection, the smooth transitions, etc.) and podcasts could be used in this capacity. 

Truthfully, podcasting requires very little investment for equipment and can be completed from most any locations. The biggest commitment is the dedication to continue to provide new and updated material regularly. 

I tried the Spring setting, thinking of the future.