Wikipedia building faith in mankind

The success of wikipedia boosts my faith in mankind. Ten years ago, who would have thought that a website would be developed called a ‘wiki’ where anyone in the world in any language can assist in developing an online encyclopedia that professionals, experts and the average Joe all go to learn about our world and its happenings. This wiki, collaboratively built by people all over the world in all walks of life and areas of interest and expertise, has become “the poster child for the collaborative construction of knowledge and truth that the new, interactive Web facilitates” (Richardson, 2009, p.57). This is amazing! A webpage built by people for the people is becoming a definite source in recording history, knowledge and truth known to the people who created it! But is this the view educators have of wikipedia? Do they trust humankind to be responsible editors of this resource and record of our world? Richardson (2009) notes that, “the consensus among educators seems to be to tell students to use Wikipedia as a starting point for their work, but not as a sole resource” (p.60).

I am sorry to hear that educators as so skeptical of such an amazing resource. Do I think all information on wikipedia is accurate, current or the best out there? Not at all. But it is a fantastic representation of the information our students are going to be engaging in and exploring in their childhood and adult lives as the internet and web 2.0 tools such as wikis continue to develop and be a part of our everyday lives.

World-wide created wikis, such as Wikipedia, is not the only type of wiki out there. McPherson (2006) distinguishes between classroom-based wikis and public wikis. Class-room based wikis, as the title suggests, are created and used by students and teachers in the classroom while pubic wikis are open to the public to review, read and edit.

Wikis are the epitome of the read/write web. They are user-friendly to create, maintain and develop and all for all users to contribute to the goal of the wiki. This is why I believe classroom-based wikis are a valuable educational tool.

So for us educators who do favor wikipedia and the use of wikis in our classroom as learning tools, how can this tool be integrated into the curriculum to provide authentic and engaging learning experiences for our students? Here are some of my ideas for how I can use wikis in the school library where I work:

1. Set up a wiki entitled ‘Latimer’s Likings’ where students can submit book reviews and collaboratively build a page for each book they want to promote in the school library. The wiki can be linked in our Virtual School Library where students go to access library information and our online catalogue. Library users can refer to the wiki at their leisure at home or in the school library when selecting their next book.
2. One of our school goals is literacy and a district developed reading program has been presented in our school. A team of 12 teachers works together, under my co-facilitation, to implement this program. As a leader in this initiative, I can set up a wiki where all team members can post their lessons and ideas on how they are and could integrate the program into their classroom lessons and units. Teachers can refer to the wiki to get new ideas, add and edit other teachers’ ideas. Specifically, once a teacher has created an initial posting, other teachers can add their own ideas and name resources to support the lesson. The team, which does not have a lot of time to meet together, can work together when it suits our personal schedules.
3. In my district, a new program promoting picture books entitled ‘Surrey Picture Book of the Year’ is a contest run in all elementary schools to choose from a list of 10 nominated picture books a winner! In January, I will spend two months reading each book to my library classes (K-4) and developing a wiki that all students can access, edit and contribute to create a review of each book. At the end of discussing and exploring each book on the wiki, classes will read and comment on each others wikis to engage in discussion as to which book our class is going to vote for to become the winner.
4. I would also like to explore using wikis as a way of differentiating instruction for students who have written output issues. A program called Dragons Naturally Speaking which allows students to wear a headset with microphone, speak into the headset their ideas and learning and the words are typed onto the computer program open. I can create a wiki for teachers who have students using this program where their work can be posted and edited by themselves, their teacher and other students who may be working with them.

These are 4 examples of the many ways I can see wikis being used in my teaching situation and look forward to the new ideas that I will have once exploring these avenues. I am confident that these wikis will promote excitement for how the tool can be used to support teaching and learning. The hope is that this introduction to wikis in my school will open communication lines between me and other teachers to discuss and brainstorm new ideas for using wikis in the classroom – both classroom-based and public wikis.

Now that I have ideas, I need to find the wiki provider that will work best. I have experience with both wikispaces and more recently pbwiki. I am personally fond of pbwiki as I find it easier to create, edit and format pages. On pbwiki it is also easy to embed YouTube videos and upload documents to link and add to your wiki. I am presently working on co-developing a pbwiki for a e-presentation for a curriculum development course I am currently taking. It is on the topic of Teacher as Change Agent. As the wiki is public, you can view it out by clicking here. I am also working on another wiki as a communication tool between myself, my colleagues and my adviser who are working on a literature review. This is a private wiki and cannot be viewed unless you are a registered user - sorry!

In the exploration of wikis with my students, I hope that students and teachers will learn to appreciate the potential of mankind through such a collaborative tool. If they are still not convinced, maybe viewing the following Teacher Tube video about the blog and wiki experiences of the students at Te Amawutu Intermediate School will persuade them!

References

McPherson, K. (2006). Wikis and literacy development. Teacher Librarian, 34(1), 67-69,66. Retrieved October 22, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journals database. (Document ID: 1135118251).

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Virtual School Libraries - The Gateway to the Information Superhighway

My Virtual School Library (VSL) for the Latimer Road School Community.
Explore it by clicking here.

I have been inspired to look at Virtual School Libraries in a new way after reading and reflecting on the book entitled "The Virtual School Library: Gateway to the Information Superhighway" edited by Carol Kahltahu. The way I see it, as a gateway to the information superhighway, a virtual school library can be the begin point of all library programming, information literacy lessons, online information searchers and other educational initiatives and at the same time organize a plethora of useful tools and sites that enhance teaching and learning.

In the elementary school setting, a VSL has the potential to organize web content, support classroom curriculum, motivate recreational reading, inform parents in how they can support their children, bring educators together to collaborate on lessons and other teaching initiatives and many other initiatives. In short, a VSL can be the go-to place for members of a school community. The teacher-librarian who creates and maintains the VSL has the opportunity to impact the school community by being in tune with the needs and desires of the teachers, administrators, students and parents.

When I created my virtual school library (or VSL) for Latimer Road I began by reviewing many VSLs that were already functioning. I was most inspired by Joyce Valenza's well developed, thorough, and curriculum supporting VSL for her high school library. View her site by clicking here. I especially love how colourful and fun her homepage is. I think it is inviting, exciting and still well organized and useful.

It took me over 100 hours (I really did keep track of this - it is not an exaggeration) to create and tweak my VSL last fall. Why did I do this? So people in my school community would use it to assist in their teaching and learning and to assist in creating a school culture of community. I am proud of my work but a year later recognize that there are changes that I need to make in order for it to be an even more useful tool. Some of these ideas come from exploring new sites this past week and some come from the observations and experiences I have had this past year using my VSL with students, staff and parents.

From using the site this past year, the greatest lesson I have learned is that no one is going to use your VSL unless they are directed to it and taught how it can be useful to them. This goes for all my focus audiences...students, teachers, support staff, parents, administrators and other TLs in my district. You can make all these people aware of the VSL but they will not use it unless they are motivated in some way to do so. In learning this, I have make the VSL the homepage on all library and computer lab computers and have taught students how to access the school library catalogue through this page. In this teaching, I have also informally highlighted the monthly contests held on the VSL, the "See What We've Done"page, "Latimer's Top 10 Picks" page, and other fun pages that students may be motivated to visit for fun.

Also for students, I have integrated the learning pages (i.e. research process and lessons, homework tips, studying tips, database and website links) into lessons that are taught during library classes as well as collaboratively taught units and lessons. What I have not done yet but plan on doing soon is incorporating some of the web 2.0 tools I have learned about in my masters course this term to make the lessons and information pages on the website more interactive and user-friendly. For example, I would like to include YouTube videos on writing a bibliography instead of just a link to a website that will help in its creation. I would also like to create a blog on the page that lists our school top 10 book check outs (or picks) to allow students to comment on the books as they have checked them out or ask questions to other students if they want to check them out.

For teachers, I promoted the site at first in a staff meeting and then offered an after school workshop on how to use the VSL to support learning and the teaching profession. It was a time of personal exploration for the teachers and the provided me with very valuable feedback and new ideas of how we as a school community could use the site.

To inform the parents of the VSL, I advertised the URL and some of the pages and tools they would find useful in our school newsletter. Also on meet the teacher night and open house, I had computers in the hallway outside the library displaying the VSL and encouraged students to show their parents the pages they like to visit.

This week as I explored VSL's I came across new sites that inspired me to make changes to my existing VSL. I found a site that lists a ton of VSLs to view in the state of Connecticut - not all of them are exemplars, but some have great ideas. Check it out by clicking here.

Here are some ideas that I have after reviewing these sites:
1. The VSL for Barbara Bush Elementary School in Mesa, AZ includes a photo gallery of pictures of events, activities, assemblies, visitors, students and staff. I can imagine that after an event at the school, students are visiting this page to review pictures posted. This personal touch motivates students and parents to go to the VSL and look through the pages. I feel this idea will attract more users to my VSL. Even thought I had this idea before of posting photos and write ups of library events, in order for my VSL to be the superhighway it could be, it need to include school wide events - even if they do not originate or take place in the library. So I will re-name my "Upcoming Library Events" page to "Photo Gallery" and include this feature to attract more users.
2. The SSES VSL includes links to classroom projects as well as sites to visit by each grade! The Calvin Leete VSL has a similar idea with each grade having their own virtual school library that is a page of links. I love the idea of organizing sites to visit by grade as opposed to subject. Right now on my page "sites for students" I have the curriculum subjects listed with links to websites and brief write ups of them. I think it would again make it more personal and useful to organize these sites by grade to match the curriculum and interest/reading level.
3. The Pine Point VSL includes a link to the teacher-librarian's (or librarian's) blog. The blog is full of links to sites, podcasts, pictures and even includes a contest called 'mystery photos'. It looks like students leave comments on the blog as to where they think the mystery photos were taken. It is obvious the instructions to the contest were given by the librarian which shows there is education being done to use the VSL.
4. At the Mclurg VSL, there is a link to a page that includes community links. What I love about this idea for my school community is that our location is on the border of two cities (Surrey and Langley) and therefore does not have a recreation or community center nearby. I think a community links page, could outline and encourage community events, recreation centers locations and other school community events all on one page. After all, school libraries being the 'heart of the school' can also be the 'heart of the community'!

The common learning theme for me this week to turn my VSL into the 'Gateway to the information superhighway' is to personalize the site further and continue educating students, staff and parents on using the various pages. In order to maintain and keep current my VSL, I may seek out a few of my interested library monitors and train them on updating specific pages. This would promote users and ownership of the VSL - another way of personalizing the site.

The Gateway to the Information Superhighway (my VSL) does not need widening but rather re-painting and possibly garbage pick up and clean up. I am still very proud of my work but am looking forward to hearing your comments on how you think I can increase the traffic on this highway. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Creating a podcast: The not so scary ghost story.

Sitting in my new house, in my new office looking out into a glowing moon, I reflect on the not so scary process of creating a podcast, a process I was chalking up to be the equivalent of seeing a ghost - - SCARY!

The process in actuality was in fact a cinch! I began by using garage band to try out creating a new podcast and when that went well, I sat down to explore podcasts that were already created (I love Women of Web 2.0 by the way! Check it out if you haven't already by clicking here), reviewed literature on how podcasts can help in the teaching and learning process and brainstormed ways in which I would use podcasts in my teaching positions. After doing this, I worked on recording my first podcast. I kept losing my train of thought so decided to write a script to keep my ideas and thoughts clear. After recording my script and doing some editing, I found royalty free music to add to my recording and then synced it and sent it in MP3 format to iTunes. Once in iTunes I renamed my podcast as I knew I would be publishing it to a site with the possibility of it being explored by the public. The site I chose to publish it on is podOmatic. It was a quick and easy upload after a quick and easy sign up. Once published to podOmatic, I got confirmation in my email that it was public and then was able to share it on my blog and tag it for the public to find. I am excited to see if anyone listens to it! I can retrieve usage statistics at any time from my account on podOmatic. It is available for account holders on podOmatic as well as any visitors to my blog.

After an initial hesitation to create a podcast in exploration for my masters course and having this success, I have no hesitation to use it as a teaching and learning tool in my teaching position as a Teacher-Librarian, Grade 4 science and PE teacher and early literacy program coordinator. Check out my podcast (see earlier blog post below) for my ideas on how I will use podcasting in education as an archiving tool for teaching and learning.

I think as my first adventure in using podcasts in my teaching situation I am going to record myself retelling a ghost story to share with my students on Halloween when they visit the library in a few weeks in their costumes. I can add haunting music and set the mood by decorating the library and turning the lights to dim. If their reactions are positive, I will venture into having each class write and record their own ghost stories on podcasts and post them on our virtual school library for all to enjoy...seeing as creating a podcast is not as scary as a ghost story!

Podcasting as an Archiving Tool

Hi everyone, check out my very first podcast that outlines the literature I read about podcasting, my thoughts about the tool and my ideas of how podcasting can be used in education, specifically as a archiving tool for teaching and learning. Let me know what you think by adding your comments.

Click this link to check it out:
Podcasting as a archiving tool

References for podcast:

Fontichiaro, K. (2007). Podcasting 101. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 23(7), 22-23. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journals database. (Document ID: 1216422211).

Gordon, A.M. (2007). SOUND OFF! The Possibilities of Podcasting. Book Links, 17(1), 16-18. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journals database. (Document ID: 1351032481).

Rozema, R. (2007). The Book Report, Version 2.0: Podcasting on Young Adult Novels. English Journal, 97(1), 31-36. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journals database. (Document ID: 1358287161).

The Buzz. (2007). School Library Journal, 53(7), 22. Retrieved October 8, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journals database. (Document ID: 1299789091).

Mastercard should pick this one up...it's del.icio.us!

Account set up - Free and Easy
Toolbar set up - Free and Easy
Bookmark transferring - Free and Easy
Tagging and Editing tags - Free and Easy
Adding friends to my network - Free and Easy
Subscribing to tags - Free and Easy
Sending my favourite bookmarks to my network friends - Free and Easy
Opportunities for collaboration - Priceless!

From the very beginning, using del.icio.us, the social bookmarking site, as a tool to organize information I find relevant, interesting or necessary has been free and easy. When I first starting using del.icio.us I wondered what was so social about it. After some exploring I discovered the network feature, the subscribing feature and the inbox feature. Each of these features allows the user to share and acquire bookmarks from other users in different ways. I think it is these features that provide potential for social bookmarking to benefit education. The more I explore the site, the more potential I see using it as a collaborative tool in the school setting. Here are some of the ideas I have thought of for my unique situation as a teacher-librarian in an elementary school...

1. Setting up an account for the library that all students would have access to. The username and password would be easy to remember and sites would support the learning we are doing in the school library and in the classroom. Teachers could set up their own sites, and send me sites they would like their students to be able to access. I would tag them with their classroom teachers name (i.e. Mrs.Smith's_Class or Grade3_Science) so teachers could direct their students on where to find the sites necessary for their learning.

2. Setting up an account for a specific classroom that would share sites that were relevant to each topic they were exploring in the classroom. I would work collaboratively with the teacher and students to become proficient in using the site teaching them how to tag and keep their delicious site organized.

3. Setting up an account for teacher only use that would include bookmarks that support the professional growth of teachers and other professionals in the school. This would require some set up on my part, an inservice or staff meeting presentation to get teachers hooked, follow up support training where other features of del.icio.us could be shared (i.e. networking, sending bookmarks to each other) and frequent organization of tags. I think it would be easiest for one person to 'regulate' the tags and all the users mark the new bookmarks they add to the site with previously developed tags. If a tag needs to be added, the 'regulator' would add it or suggest another preexisting tag that would suit the site being added. I think this is necessary for the tags to not get in the way of organizing the sites saved.

4. An alternative to setting up a site that all teachers have access to would be to hold an inservice for teachers to learn to set up their own del.icio.us sites and teach them how to add each other as network friends and how to share sites through subscription or through their inbox. I personally think this would be a better alternative than #3 because it eliminates the need for a 'regulator' as well it holds more potential for teachers to use the site as it is their own. A collaborative site may fizzle out as teachers feel it is not their own to use and cannot add their personal bookmarks to it. If students have regular access to the internet at school and at home, I think this would be a better alternative to idea #2 for students as well because it will also keep students accountable to the sites they are adding to their own del.icio.us site and encourage them to use it on a more personal level as well as an educational level. It would also enable privacy of personal bookmarks as teachers or students could send their bookmarks through the inbox or get their students to subscribe to a particular tag (i.e. grade7_art) so anything the teacher gives that tag can be sent to the student.

5. As it is free and so easy, I could also see myself setting up a site for a specific project or even a school goal. For example, if working on a research project on sea turtles with a grade 4 class for science, I could set up a del.icio.us site just for this project to acquire and make available sites for the students and teachers working on this project with me. It could be a go to place! Or I could set up a account that would support our school literacy goal for teachers, students, parents and administrators to use. Any interested groups would be granted access to find sites that would support our school goal in a variety of ways (i.e. home activities for parents, lessons for teachers, research for administrators, teachers or parents, literacy game sites for kids). This would require sessions for any user groups to learn how to access the site and use it to its potential.

I really feel that del.icio.us can be used in any collaborative or personal situation to organize information on the web.

To be honest, I did not explore any other social bookmarking sites (i.e. diigo) because del.icio.us was so easy and efficient that I spent my time exploring it and beginning to use it for myself and as a collaborative tool instead of setting up another account. I do not doubt that other sites would be comparable, but I think when you find a good thing that is working, stick with it!

I have however been exploring shelfari as a social bookmarking tool where I can add the books I have read and the books I want to read. I added one to my blog when I initially set it up but did not see this as more than a place to showcase the books I liked or want to read. This past week I have explored this site more and see that I can add friends to my network and view their shelves. I can even join a bookclub! The last two years have not left me time to participate in a traditional bookclub but I am excited that I can join a club for a time to discuss a book I have already read to just discuss that book! That is thrilling! When you finish a great book and just have to share it with someone and no one you know has read it...this is a perfect outlet for the gushing! I look forward to getting involved in this feature.

When using social bookmarking tools in the educational setting, I think it is important to remember that "the more organized your bookmarks are, the more valuable they will be to you" (Warlick, p.112). This pertains to us personally but we also need to remember this when working with our colleagues and students. We need to remember that each social bookmarking site needs to be organized in a way that suits the user(s). My way of using del.icio.us may not work for others. For sure, different people will place different tags on the same site so it truly needs to be a collaboratively planned, implemented and used tool.

As Richardson (2009) outlines, social bookmarking tools can change the way we work by using networks to tap into collaborative relationships. To take advantage of this "priceless" tool we need to view it as one that will not only organize information for us, but one that will allow us to work smarter not harder through collaborating with our colleagues and students.

References:

Warlick, D.F. (2005). Raw materials for the mind: A teachers guide to digital literacy. Raleigh, NC: The Landmark Project.

Richardson, W. (2009) Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.