Wikis

My understanding of wikis, like other web 2.0 tools, has evolved and deepened over the last few years. Our CFISD Librarians' Wiki was the first one I've been involved with. At first, it was hard to remember to visit the wiki on a regular basis. I tried to use the settings to notify me of updates, but just felt like my already-overflowing email inbox was being bombarded even more. I finally got into the habit of checking it frequently and felt much better about my participation in the learning community we created there. Now, I participate in several wikis and like that I can easily access the information I need no matter what group I'm working with. I like that the conversations are in the discussion forum so I can access them anytime. I also enjoy the ability to add things or update the pages whenever I need to.

I am involved in our school's wiki, but a goal of mine for this year is to participate and add to it on a regular basis. I'm thinking that this may be the vehicle to start my sharing sessions with staff members, since securing a face-to-face meeting is quite a challenge. Maybe I can post a few new ideas or tools for my staff and hope that the "anywhere, anytime" nature of wikis will spawn more face-to-face collaboration.

As I explored some of the suggested links for this topic, I found a few student wikis. I have not used wikis with students before, but I especially liked the one where students posted as if they were book characters. Is this a new lesson idea? No, but it takes a tried-and-true favorite and brings it into the 21st century. This could be a fun way to involve my students in deeper conversations about HTT books! Hmmm...