Wiki Wanderings

I love to go a-wiki-wandering…

This week’s journey was to explore the wiki world (try saying that 5 times fast) and create one of my own for classroom or personal use.

What better place to start this exploration than to look for a definition on the best known wiki of them all, Wikipedia:

“A wiki is a page or collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language.[1][2] Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites.
"Wiki" (/wiːkiː/) is a Hawaiian word for "fast"[4]. "Wiki Wiki" is a reduplication. Wiki" can be expanded as "What I Know Is," but this is a backronym. (A backronym (or bacronym) is a phrase that is constructed "after the fact" from a previously existing word or abbreviation, the abbreviation being an initialism or an acronym)”

--Wow, who knew all that??

Basically, a wiki is a collaborative, social website where anyone can interact, contribute and edit content. Anyone can write anything…okay, this concerns me somewhat.

Sounds like I might not be alone with this concern. When students start looking to sites such as Wikipedia as a research resource, Richardson states, “The idea that “it might be wrong” is a tough one for most people to overcome.” (p. 59) Especially for educators! Before looking into the wiki world, I too often dismissed Wikipedia as being inaccurate or, at worst, all out wrong because anyone could put anything and who’s to know what’s the right or wrong information? Then, Richardson reassured me that there’s a group of editors whose main concerns are to “make it right” and “set it straight” (p.56). As well, Richardson sited several studies where wikipedia had been tested and reviewed for accuracy (pp 56 & 58) and was found to be a fairly solid resource. Also, I found out that accountability on other wiki sites is established by ensuring that every change to the site is recorded and by having various permission levels so that only people invited can make changes to specified pages.

Now that I felt more trusting, I began to explore how wikis could be used in a classroom setting. For lack of a better statement, there’s a lot of really cool stuff out there!!

Wait, yet another nagging question…how is a wiki all that different from setting up a blog? I was directed to the “TeachersFirst” website by a classmate and it was here I found a great answer:


“…blogs are often the vehicle of choice to express individual opinions.


A wiki has a far more open structure and allows others to change what one person has written. This openness may trump individual opinion with group consensus.”


Individual opinion versus group consensus-- this understanding of blog versus wiki is consistent with Richardson’s view:
“As we continue to move toward a world where everyone has access to ideas and where collaboration is the expectation rather than the exception, wikis can go a long way to teaching our students some very useful skills for their future.” (Richardson, p. 59)


Now, on to the cool stuff…


Here’s a good summary from the Wetpaint wiki-host site on using wikis in the classroom:


“How can wikis be used in the classroom?

Group projects

: Students work together in one place to research, outline, draft, and edit projects within the wiki
Assignments: Post homework, course materials, study guides, and more.
Resource Collections: Organize articles, websites, videos, and other resources for students
Peer Review: Post questions for student brainstorming, or have students post papers for peer feedback
Group FAQ: Students and/or teachers post and respond to questions on a given topic
Parent Involvement: Give parents a chance to be a part of the classroom and stay up to date on classroom news and events
Online Newspaper: Create a student-published online newspaper”

Other examples of using wikis in the classroom that I find intriguing are based on writing and novel studies, such as the following:

• Wikibooks is a very cool wiki recommended by Richardson (p.63). The goal is to produce a series of non-fiction booklets for children aged 8-12yrs made by the collaborations of students. Students can create an account, sign on and contribute information they know about the subject. What a great way to evaluate what students have learned by seeing what they’ve added to the collection of information. Or challenge students to find new information that hasn’t been posted or to edit the information (check facts) of what has been added to the booklet.


• Creating collaborative stories. Two such examples done in an elementary school are terrythetennisball a wiki created by a grade ¾ teacher in Australia, where students have written many versions about the adventures of a tennis ball, and a grade one wiki where the students continue to add to the adventures of a hockey player. A fun, motivating way to create a story and practice writing skills that teaches students how to work with others to build a better whole.


• Novel Studies. A great example is given in Richardson’s text about the book Turn Homeward Hannalee a wiki where students have created interviews, presentations and reference pages based on this book using all sorts of web 2.0 tools. As Amy Bowllan states in a 2008 School Library Journal article:

“Ideal for collaborative learning, a wiki allows students to engage the novel beyond the pages of the book. Students can use the wiki to research, outline, draft, and edit a
collaborative project on the book. They could also organize articles, site links, video, and
other resources”

The benefits of using a wiki as a tool for teaching and learning are summarized really well
in the Teachersfirst website--connections, creativity, engagement, interpersonal skills, writing skills, metacognition—all great reasons for using a wiki in the classroom.


How to go about creating a classroom wiki? Here are some options:

1. PBwiki for classrooms -a good feature of this educational wiki is the student accountability. Teacher’s can see who has changed what and reverse any changes. As well, PBwiki has “webinars” that teach the basics about using the site and setting up a wiki for classroom use.


2. Wetpaint education wiki has a free ad free version for the classroom.
   
3. Wikispaces has a good video tour to get you started as well as a complimentary upgrade to “Plus” (includes increased security, ad-free) for K-12 educational use.
   

Looking through Wikispaces, I discovered this book club wiki which inspired me to try and create a wiki for my own book club. I used the tool Wikispaces and found it to be extremely easy to navigate and straight forward to use. My book club wiki that I created is here and I’m sure it will prove to be a fun and creative way to come together as a club. The ease of collaboration is certain to inspire us all!

As a final note, Richardson sums it up well when he states:

“The collaborative environments that wikis facilitate can teach students much about how to work with others, how to create community, and how to operate in a world where the creation of knowledge and information is more and more becoming a group effort.” (p. 69)

Happy wiki wandering!

virtuous virtuals

Still a bit of a challenging week computer wise but I'm finally back on my home pc and things are looking up! Now, onto the virtues of virtuals...

Before I began my quest to discover the qualities of great virtual school libraries (vsl's), I thought I'd better find out a little more about them. I found this definition of a digital library in the "Teacher Training Manual" section of the International Children's Digital Library:


"William Arms, creator of D-Lib Magazine, gives a simple yet effective definition of a digital library. He defines a digital library as a “managed collection of information, with
associated services, where the information is stored in digital formats and accessible over
a network” (Arms, 2000, p. 2). Digital libraries are considered extensions of the physical
library, not replacements. They have benefits such as being “open” twenty-four hours a
day at a relatively low cost, bringing the library to the user, allowing for powerful
searching and browsing, being able to share unique collections, and providing access to
up-to-date information (Arms, 2000).

Arms, W.Y. (2000). Digital Libraries. Boston, MA: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Press.
Borgman, C. L. (1999, May 23-26, 1999). What are digital libraries, who is building them, and why? Digital
Libraries: Interdisciplinary Concepts, Challenges, and Opportunities. 23-38."


I liked this definition especially because it included the statement about digital/virtual libraries being extensions of the physical library, working in collaboration with existing traditional formats not simply replacing them. At this point in time, this is important simply because not all learners in the school community have computer access. Until online libraries can confidently claim that they're accessible to all learners, the traditional versions must remain intact, up to date and provide the "virtual space" (computers) so that all learners have access.


What intrigues me -- vsl's being open 24/7 and the notion of bringing the library to the learner, wonderful implications for teaching and learning.


Here's a summary of my initial thoughts and some highlights (and low lights) from the virtual libraries I searched:




Springfield Township virtual library (Joyce Valenza)

• Great, fun graphics--enjoyable to explore


• Easy to navigate


• Some of what it contains:

1. catalogs and databases-high quality, full text, web based eg POWER
2. on-line research guide-search strategies included
3. reference tools - wikis eg kids click! search engine
4. resources for librarians, online lessons
5. links for students/teachers
6. Virtual Reference desk-assistance through email
   

Parkcrest Library

• mission statement
• catalog info
• student/staff links-student links not working when I tried
• promotion of school events
• easy to navigate - simple, straight forward

McLurg Elementary Virtual Library

• unique is the Student Work section where you can see work done by students using wordle and a voice thread slideshow, very neat
  
• liked the pictures in the old site, seemed friendlier


• new site has more information, but too "clustered" for my liking


• "What to Read" section-great idea
  

Bessie Chin Library

• very busy, lots going on--hard to know where to "click", didn't want to stay on this site!
  
• I found the constant scrolling on top to be bothersome (I kept thinking something was wrong with Internet explorer!)
  

Quickly moving on...

Grandview School Library

• loved the graphics, very kid friendly. Also loved the grade level links and the simple, user friendly (especially for kids) catalog.
  

John Newbery Elementary -

• good research resource: "Pathfinders" - Bright, graphic page with different topics under each grade level to help students find the information they're looking for. Students click on their topic and they're directed to a list of resources (print, on-line and video)
  

Birch Lane Elementary

• a little sterile looking but liked the layout (headings on the left and links on the right)
  
• out dated "Battle of the Books" link (from 2004)


• not a large selection of online data bases


• liked the student book review section and power point use on "how to do research" beside the homework link
  

S.C. Lee Jr. High

• links to Web 2.0 applications-- first time I saw this
  
• Great teacher resources links
  

Virtual Middle School

• really liked the bottom of their home page, had a date for when the links where last checked
  
  

Virtual Reference Desk

• set up by the Public Libraries of BC to provide "quick access to a virtual library of websites ...reputable websites that have been reviewed by librarians"
• did a quick search of bears and was impressed by the "localness" of it (BC websites)
  
  

Ecole des Deux Mondes

• my daughter's school in our school district (was better developed than I thought it might be!)
• some useful links "en francais"
• Still a work in progress!
  
  

The National Science Digital Library

• has resources for K-12 teachers
  

Smithsonian Library and Archival Exhibits

• on the web "3000 links to online exhibitions from libraries, archives, and museums around the world."
  
  
  

Based on my very preliminary observations, here's a list of the qualities of a great virtual library (in no particular order):

• Great graphics (especially pictures of books) to help draw the user in



• Online Catalog where students can independently search titles available in the school library



• Research Resources -subscription databases, curriculum related websites (with the help of a search tool like Pathfinders where there's a page with different topics listed under appropriate grade levels), links to help with the research process (Big 6)



• "How to" on searching effectively and links to search engines adapted to specific information (eg NoodleTools)



• "How to" on evaluating a website



• Links to author websites



• Links specific for students, parents and staff



• Links to games/fun stuff that promotes reading (eg Scholastic)



• Reading lists- grade level, choices and reviews by students, "what should I read next?"



• E book links(eg International Children's Digital Library)



• Promotion on site of literary and school events (eg Battle of the Books)



• Links to local, public libraries



• Section to showcase student achievements



• Virtual reference desk to offer assistance through email or portal to provide feedback



• Dates of when links were last checked

There are many potentials and advantages for using vsl's along with traditional libraries. Some of these include decreasing library costs because there's no damaged or lost books to replace, creating access to many and remote collections of books or research materials and promoting critical thinking in students by having them work independently in a quality web based environment.

How could these sites be improved or changed with the incorporation of new or different technologies? What I see is the addition of more web 2.0 tools that would allow for collaboration and interaction. Perhaps a student blog or chat room area where members could discuss various books, assignments, resources or concerns and get feedback from authors, teachers or librarians.

As a final note, John V. Lombardi points out in his 2000 article on Academic Libraries in a Digital Age, there are still many challenges facing virtual libraries. Number one being expense, the updating of obsolete hardware/software as well as conversion into digital format, and issues around property rights of information.

What remains consistent in this virtual age is that librarians will continue to do the job they've always done. " They will provide their constituents with help and assistance, as they always have, in finding, evaluating, and understanding the universe of information that the digital world has provided us. They will spend less time and energy developing collections and much more developing on-line guides to subjects, topics, and resources. " (Lombardi, 2000)

Frustrations and Turkey

Frustration, turkey, more frustration and some more turkey--pretty much sums up my week. Allow me to explain, here's the condensed version...



It all began when, earlier on in the week, I embarked on my podcasting journey. I happily began reading chapter 8 of Richardson's text and found out that "Podcasting is basically the creation of and distribution of amateur radio." (p. 110) Very cool, this was going to be fun. I watched Lee LeFever's Common Craft video, Podcasting in Plain English, and discovered that podcasting was different from regular broadcasting in that it is "personal and on demand". Basically, I can listen to what I want when I want, with the help of a "podcatcher" (for example itunes) and a RSS feed subscription. Ricardson and Lee Fever assured me that creating my own podcast was just as simple as subscribing to and downloading one that had been broadcast by someone else. After listening to student created podcasts (readings of a Newbury Award book in the educating alice blog), I was inspired and motivated (much as these students were) to create my very own podcast.



Reading on, I knew that I needed a way of recording digital audio. Hmmm... my daughter has an MP3 player with a built in mic, that ought to work. I created a free account with "Audacity" as I needed some software to convert what I recorded into MP3 format . Easy enough to create the account but here's the beginning of my frustration. The "synching up process", that's casually mentioned in Richarson's text (p. 117), to get my recorded files onto my hard drive was extremely time consuming (for me, anyway) and the recorded results were an inferior quality (partly due to the cheap MP3 player). So, off I went to purchase a good quality mic to save time, hopefully, and produce some better sounding recordings for my podcast.



The mic worked great and way easier than trying to record via the MP3. All I needed now was to transfer the MP3 file to an online server that would create a URL, enabling my file to be linked to my blog. First, I tried Our Media (Richarson's first suggestion, p. 118) for free storage of my audio file. My frustration continued...it took forever to download a small test file I created (actually, I don't think it ever really did download...) . Next, I decided to try "Podomatic" (another Richardson suggestion, p. 119), a web-based service where you can record, store and share your podcast all on the one site!
Why I didn't read and try this first...frustration gave way to some relief, if only temporary...



Success! Using Audacity, I recorded my daughter, Claire, reading and essay she wrote, and won an award for, about the "Spirit of B.C." (see previous posting) Using "Podomatic", I downloaded my MP3 file, stored and posted it directly to my blog--a great feature this site offers. All quickly and efficiently--they even sent me an email letting me know this had been done successfully.



Things were looking up, or so I thought...



Great, my podcast was done, a first step in assignment completion! It took way longer than anticipated, but I'm grateful I tried it on my own before attempting it with a class. Now, all that was left was to finish my blog post about this podcasting process. Shouldn't be too difficult, considering I had carefully saved the links of my readings etc. in a word document...



Disaster struck...



One turkey dinner down and it was time to start blogging, I just needed to fire up the computer. It didn't just "fire up". Long story very short, after a trip to the computer shop, power is thankfully restored. New problem. As soon as it powers up, it freezes. Nothing. Not good. Also not good is that it's Thanksgiving weekend and the IT guy has gone home for his turkey dinner. I can't access anything. This is where I start to reflect (a little late) on the benefits of web-based storage of documents. Also, a good time to think about the frustrations many of us feel when, especially at school, computers are down and there's a huge wait for someone in the IT department. Obstacles to this great Web 2.0 technology.



More turkey and a rescue...



Another turkey dinner down and, along with it, the borrowing of my Mother-in-laws laptop (there could be a great joke here...) So I'm back online, but without my carefully preserved word document, I'm flying by the seat of my pants and spending way more time, that I don't happen to have, trying to re-do what I had already done. Frustration once again...

In spite of all this, I do see great implications for using podcasting in the classroom. I was struck with Joyce Valenza's comments when discussing what a library should look like in the 21st century in the Women of Web2.0 podcast. She mentioned that catalogued and posted in libraries should be archives of student created materials. Podcasts are certainly a great way to archive student achievements, whether it be reading favourite literary passages or interviewing someone as part of a radio show podcast. Also, what a treasured addition to a portfolio of student work. What parent wouldn't be thrilled with an audio file that their child created? (I sent mine off to both sets of grandparents...) As far a creating podcasts in the classroom, the sheer motivational factor of making an audio file that can be shared and replayed is huge for student learning.

As well, Will Richardson states in Podcating 101:

"Teachers find podcasts are a great way for students to present what they are learning in the classroom. So when the kids at Radio Willow Web in Omaha , for example, produce a show about “Those Amazing Ants,” they are doing work that has a real purpose beyond the classroom." "...real purpose beyond the classroom"... meaningful and relevant learning, exactly our goals for students in today's classrooms.

After listening to the first podcast created by Mabry Middle School, the power of this Web 2.0 tool as a communication device between home and school is incredible. Families can download school newsletters, concert performances, classroom assignments etc, listening to and sharing them at their convenience. Students can easily pick up missed classroom assignments by listening to a podcast created by their teacher or classmate.

For myself, listening to podcasts, whether for professional or personal reasons, is the ultimate, multi-tasking time saver. I can do chores while listening to some great reviews of children's literature (eg. Just One More Book). I may not always have time to read, but having the option of listening when and where I want, while doing other things, will greatly enhance my professional development. (A great list of podcasts for educational use put out by David Warlick can be found at The Education Podcast Network website).

Frustrations will continue, I'm sure, with technology and with the "newness" of most of these Web 2.0 tools. As for me, I'll continue to persevere and be thankful for turkey dinners as well as encouragement and support from wonderful friends (thanks Jacquie!) and family.

First attempt at podcast!

"Diiging" in...

I began looking into social bookmarking as a way of getting organized in the Web 2.0 environment. I was wanting a way of managing my favourites, making them easier to find and retrieve. Social bookmarking offers this by sorting bookmarks by 'tags' - single keywords that I create - making them more "findable". It has the added benefit of being public (or private, if prefered) so that tagged sites can be shared with peers, students and parents. The big bonus of bookmarking socially is the access to well read, like-minded taggers and being able to view sites they've marked, which enriches my collection.

Teaching Today article offers some answers to why use social bookmarking in the classroom, primarily for management reasons (web-based storage of bookmarks), collaboration and news gathering. I see other great implications, especially in having a tool that gives students the potential to collaborate and share information with other classmates. Simply feeling more empowered, students will be motivated to contribute quality content that they know others will read.

This Educase Learning document from Joanne's "Trailfire" says it well:
"Social bookmarking creates a true web of resources and connections—
one that is not limited to individuals and their folders
but represents the interests and judgments of a
community of users."

In my search for a social bookmarking site, I decided to start with Diigo based on Richarson's recommendation, "...another one of my favourite tools on the Read/Write Web. Diigo is a tool that not only allows you to begin constructing your own little piece of the web, it's a way of organizing it for yourself and for those you are collaborating with." (p.91 of Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts)

My intention was to explore a few others but I got so entrenched in Diigo it was hard "diiging" out. Here's what I "dug" up...

Diigo was easy to sign on to and download their tool bar. This has several useful features, such as the ability to highlight passages you're reading, comment on them (privately or publicly) and send them to your blog for editing or posting. These features are unique to Diigo (Richardson p.92) and part of the reason why I chose to focus on this site.

Another great features on Diigo is the video and slideshare introductory tutorials at the Diigo Help Center. Perfect for saving time and good visuals for newbie learners, such as myself. The following is one such video that also includes an explanation of social bookmarking:




Also, there's some informative user-generated tutorials (see below) that not only teaches what the acronym Diigo means (Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other Stuff) but offers some great links for using Diigo in an educational setting (eg. see p. 20 "Avatar links for students")

Dig Deeper with Diigo

Dig Deeper with Diigo

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: web 2.0)

"This is a comprehensive tutorial for using Diigo in educational settings"

Which brings me to another great feature, the Diigo Educator Account. Here, you can safely set up student group accounts for classroom use. (Student email addresses are optional when setting up the accounts and privacy features allow only teacher and classmate communication) Classes automatically are set up as a Diigo group that includes group bookmarks, annotations and forums. Great implications for a classroom use whether collaborative bookmarking on research links, discussing these links using annotations or evaluating student comments on these sites.

One more neat thing I discovered with Diigo is that I could embed a Diigo slideshow onto my blog (see widget on the left of this posting) where I can organize and share a list of some of my bookmarkings . (What I noticed is that my highlights and post-it annotations didn't show up on my slideshow sample, most likely something I'm doing wrong.) I can see using this much like a "Trailfire" where you could have a list of bookmarked sites for students to peruse.

So I'm signed on, playing with all the gadgets (including regularly referring to tutorials), finding that using the toolbar is a great way to organize and liking the collaborative nature (particularly seeing what others have marked!).

I was reading Liz B Davies, in the "Getting Started" tutorials on Diigo, and I should have been a little leery when she mentioned Diigo as being "delicious on steroids". I've had this feeling all along that delicious is probably more my style - straight forward, simple - but glad I've persisted with Diigo and looking forward to "diiging" in some more!