Friday, April 16, 2010

Thing #16

Wikis: Thanks to this technology class and "23 Things", I have a better understanding on how Wikis work. The Common Craft video in plain English is very helpful! Wiki is a Hawaiian word for "quick," and this Web 2.0 application is definitely a quick way to collaborate your ideas with others. Using a Wiki is so much better than sending emails to one another because you're not clogging up your inbox and it's hard to keep the information organized. My grad school classmates and I have been using Wikis to post our thoughts, research, and powerpoints so that we can continue working together when we are not able to meet in person. We are able to keep our ideas organized and edit our work when needed.
Wikipedia is the largest and most popular Wiki used by others. I know that this is going to sound dumb, but I always thought that Wikipedia was just another encyclopedia resource until now! Since Wikis allow more users to post their ideas without having a webmaster verify their work, I now understand why some teachers frown upon their students using Wikipedia as a resource when assigning research projects.
Librarians can use Wikis to post book reviews and allow others to post their reviews as well. In order for this idea to be effective, there would have to be guidelines established so that others do not use inappropriate language and remain professional when posting their thoughts online. Using a Wiki in this fashion would be another way to advocate the library program at school!

2 comments:

  1. If you think of wikipedia in terms of a traditional encyclopedia, you can let kids use it as a starting point to accumulate keywords and links of authority.
    In the olden days, I would not let the World Book be a resource on a research paper, but they could read the article and collect keywords and look at the suggested books...then go get the books!
    maybe you could talk to your teachers about letting Wikipedia be used that way?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for your suggestion, Vaughn!

    ReplyDelete