A Powerful Web Authoring Tool

Johan Ragetli, MLIS, OCTEnniskillen PS

WIKIS IN YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY

Image : bloomingtonblogs.wikispaces.com

What Is a Wiki?

You’ve heard of Wikipedia of course It’s web authoring made easy No HTML required It’s been around since 1995. Hello. Anyone can edit anything anytime they want

Why Start a Wiki?

Differentiated. Equal playing field (see next slide)Supporting Classrooms. Traditional literacy.Fluency. Meeting Information Literacy standards. Flexible. Easy to share information and manage knowledgeAdaptable. Easy to collaborate as a group or classOpen. Ongoing documentation or projectsConnected. Encourages student participation in the online world (and teachers too!)

Information Technology

enables students to work and express ideas in an environment relatively free of gender stereotyping and other biases. In comparison with other forms of communication, electronic networks have the greatest potential for allowing students to interact regardless, for instance, of gender or exceptionality. They also allow students with any impediments to social interaction to interact with others in ways that build confidence. – Information Studies: K-12

Why We’re Doing It. Solves problems with sharing and viewing

each others work Allows students/peers to comment publicly Students work at own speed Allows students to write collectively See themselves on the web as authors School and home connection

How it Works at Enniskillen Things have started slowly Book Club is a great example of non-class use Posting finished work, adding comments (peer

reviews) Closed site. Only members can post or view

postings. One wiki for everything.

Challenges

Any given page of a wiki can only be edited by one person at a time. Teachers must plan wiki projects so students aren't all using the same page at the same time.

Added Administration tasks Security, Permissions, Letters home Monitoring behaviour and appropriate language It’s actually not that challenging. Really.

Some Ideas for Wikis

Student-created study guides

Book Clubs (E.g. Forest of Reading, Battle of Books)

Vocabulary lists or glossary of scientific terms

Class or school newspaper/yearbook

Collaborative book reviews or author studies

Portal for all classroom/library activities

Space for collaboration with students in other parts of the world

Collaborative story written by a group of writers

Examples and Resources

Simple.wikipedia.org Teacherlibrarianwiki.pbworks.com Enniskillenps.pbworks.com Teachlibrary.wikispaces.com Smarterlibraries.wikispaces.com educationalwikis.wikispaces.com www.libsuccess.org readingforest.pbworks.com

The End Slide show will be posted.

Contact me for more information. Thanks for listening.