Week Five- Wikis
1. I can think of a few different ways to use Wikis in my library. The best example I can give is when working on any sort of collaborative project with my fellow teachers. There have been many times when I have a document that I will email to several teachers (maybe an entire grade level) for them to look over and make changes. The hardest thing is to go back and forth between all the emails that start coming back in to me. Many of the teachers will suggest the same changes or add other items that then need to be discussed amongst the other members. What usually happens is a paper trail nightmare. I end up forgetting who has seen what portion of the project and who has suggested changes that have not already been made.
2. Wikis and blogs are quite different in my opinion. A blog is a place for you to express yourself publicly and allow others to comment on your posts. The original content of the blog can't be altered by others. A Wiki on the other hand is a collaborative document that is created as a means of collaboration within a group. A Wiki (if it is unrestricted) is a working document that is "in progress". Other members are allowed to read, edit, add, and delete information in order to participate in the discussion. I think Wikis are best in a collaborative situation while blogs work best for communication without the NEED for collaboration.
3. I would like to use Wikis this year to avoid having so many unnecessary meetings with the teachers on my campus. At the beginning of the year I am planning on "tweaking" our campus AR plan. Rather than trying to convince the AR committee to find a time that works for all of us to meet and discuss my proposed changes, I will create a Wiki to accomplish this task. I would like to import the current plan into a document in my Wiki. Then, I would send it out to the AR committee and have them read through the changes I have made, and add their own ideas and/or comments. I really think this will save so much time!
2. Wikis and blogs are quite different in my opinion. A blog is a place for you to express yourself publicly and allow others to comment on your posts. The original content of the blog can't be altered by others. A Wiki on the other hand is a collaborative document that is created as a means of collaboration within a group. A Wiki (if it is unrestricted) is a working document that is "in progress". Other members are allowed to read, edit, add, and delete information in order to participate in the discussion. I think Wikis are best in a collaborative situation while blogs work best for communication without the NEED for collaboration.
3. I would like to use Wikis this year to avoid having so many unnecessary meetings with the teachers on my campus. At the beginning of the year I am planning on "tweaking" our campus AR plan. Rather than trying to convince the AR committee to find a time that works for all of us to meet and discuss my proposed changes, I will create a Wiki to accomplish this task. I would like to import the current plan into a document in my Wiki. Then, I would send it out to the AR committee and have them read through the changes I have made, and add their own ideas and/or comments. I really think this will save so much time!
What a great idea for a wikki. I would love to have a look at yours once you create it. I too think this will help with collaboration. Since there are no meetings, there should be no excuse not to collaborate. I am also going to ask the grade level leaders to add me to their lesson plans so I can see what they are planning and I won't have to try to meet with them as often.
ReplyDelete