To Make a Wiki, or Not?

Virtual collaborative spaces, also known as wikis, are a great way to communicate, collaborate, and inspire others. Chad F. Boeninger, author of chapter three, “The Wonderful World of Wikis: Applications for Libraries” in Library 2.0, illustrates many ways in which the use of a wiki greatly surpasses that of a private or corporate hosted website, emails, and even blogs. The greatest advantage to the wiki is the ability to edit and add information from anywhere. Wikis do not require the user to have a knowledge of html or web design, they do not require the user to ask for permission to change or add information, and they do not require addition and often expensive software. It is one of the simplest, yet most complex, ideas on the web. There are so many wikis available on the internet today, providing information on an abundance of subjects and interests. A wiki is everything you are willing to put into it and sometimes more.

The media center has a great advantage when it comes to using wikis. Boeninger makes a great point by stating, “A library-hosted wiki can enable the library to be at the center of the virtual meeting space while also serving as a knowledge base and repository for the learning community”. While students and teachers may not always come to the library in a physical sense, by having a wiki, they can access the information and resources that can be made available to them through the web.

Cobb County media specialists are using their wiki in a very interesting way. They have pages and pages of information that is useful to the teachers, students, and parents. Their how-to section alone is filled with information that would benefit the teacher who is troubleshooting the use of technologies in the classroom. They have articles on iPads and iMovie, e-readers, movie maker, Flip cameras, interactive whiteboards, podcasts, and so much more. In addition to how-to information they have links to many websites that can be used for learning outside of the classroom or as an added activity for students. This wiki is maintained and used mainly by media specialists, but the ideas and information they provide can easily be translated into a school-based wiki for use by teachers and students alike.

Due to the wiki’s collaborative nature, I believe it is an invaluable tool for both the media center and the whole school. Wikis can be created on as many pages as the server will allow, therefore, the organization of the wiki can be precise and easily understandable. I think teachers could use wikis for a number of projects, each student or group of students could be responsible for a page on a specific project wiki, it would allow the students to collaborate inside and outside of school, while allowing the teacher to monitor the progress of the project. Students could add book reviews to the media center wiki and use tags to make the reviews easily accessible. School announcements can be posted for parents and students to review from home without the need for printed take home letters. The media specialist could use a wiki as a virtual calendar, so that teachers always have access to the schedule and can request time in the media center and/or computer labs without emails getting lost, or trying to negotiate availability.

There are so many uses for wikis, inside and outside of the education field. What we, as media specialists must do, on the advice of Boeninger, is ask ourselves, “Will a wiki help to fill some void or solve some problem?” If the answer is yes, then get started.