Wikis


 * Library Wiki**

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The librarian at this school has set up her wiki as her library website. She is able to share pictures of activities in the library, post the library schedule and calendar where it is easy to find, give suggested books to read, plus there are many great links for learning. She has set this wiki up to make it very user friendly and easy enough for even students. I really like the fact that she includes a list of books that were recently added to the library. This is a quick way to feature the latest books to entice the students to read them.

I would love to set up a wiki similar to this one for the school that I will be working at this next year. This would be a great way of communicating with the community and faculty. Making sure that others know what is going on in the library is very important to the success of the library. The slide show feature is a great way to display photos of the events that take place throughout the year. I would also like to use the wiki to display areas for students to use for research that are reliable resources. I would also include a separate section for each grade level to make it easy for teachers to add information for their specific grade level. All of these ideas have me very excited to try this out and see how things go for the next school year.

Megan Hall


 * Wikis

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This is a site set up for school librarians to share ideas and post ways they have used their wiki page. There are several links to book reviews, fair use policy, lesson plans, library survival strategies (I like that one ! =) ) and much more. I plan on using this as way to network with other librarians and try to keep up with the fast changing times. I think a Wiki is a wonderful tool for teachers and the educational setting. It allows freedom to ask questions for staff, students and parents. and time for answers. I would like to use a Wiki as part of my library home page. There I could post news, special events and research ideas for projects I know students are working on for their respective grades. This would allow teachers to collaborate more with the library as well. Students could also post their own reviews of literature and research, and even game sites. The Wiki allows all ages and staff to get involved and can bring the school together with the library as the central learning hub of information.

Dayna Mellberg

Wikis**

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Steffanie Audel, a school librarian, set up this website to list the library schedule for classes, the school calendar and curriculum connections. There is also a link for recommended children's books and the library's online card catalog.


 * I want to utilize this technology as a teacher and when I become a school librarian. Three of the areas where I would focus most would be: 1) parental involvement, 2) student discussion and 3) multi-media applications.**

I would love to have parents post questions and comments for me and each other concerning children's literature and the reading habits of their children. They could learn so much from various ideas and through their collaboration. Also, they could access information on additional resources and links to sites from other teachers and librarians Parents being able to see what other students are doing in the library would be an advantage, too.

Student discussions are greatly facilitated on Wikis. Wikis encourage reflection and allow one to elaborate on their thoughts and opinions. Only limited time can be given to oral discussions during school time, but more time can be devoted to discussions posted on Wikis.

I would like to see the use of multi-media applications, such as bubbleshare slideshow, youtube and skype. One of the clear preferences of this technology is its design and ease in editing. Teachers and librarians can add as much detail as desired. When a topic is being presented, more visual or audio can be utilized to grab the student's attention. Some Wikis add the element of social networking with links to facebook or myspace where students can post blogs. Librarians and teachers can find educational websites where students from around the country are posting blogs on literature or science projects. The library or classroom Wikis really become your own community, and they are dependent on your students.

Susan Hyde

Wikis/Wikipedia

http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2005/07/turning_wikiped.html

In this blog written by Andy Carvin, he expresses the concern educators have with students using Wikipedia and Wikis for research. He embraces the fact that Wikipedia's flaws actually make it an ideal learning tool for students. He suggests using Wikipedia as a teaching tool to demonstrate to students how facts need to be verified with this activity:

1. Take a a class of fifth grade students and breaking them into groups having each group pick a topic that interests them. 2. Then send the groups to Wikipedia to research the selected topic. 3. Then the students need to break down into manageable chunks of information each with a certain number of facts that need to verified. 4. The students spend time to check the content facts. 5. The students will have two possible outcomes: the fact will be correct OR incorrect. Either way, they will have created a list of sources proving the facts correct or incorrect. 6. Then the teacher can create a Wikipedia log in for the class and they can go in and present their findings, outlining every fact that needs to be corrected. 7. Students can then edit the actual Wikipedia entry to make the corrections, with all sources cited. They can also list sources for any facts they confirm as accurate.

I think this would be great activity to do with upper elementary and middle school students, even through high school. This activity would work great as a stand-alone research unit taught by the school librarian when instructing students on how to research. I can this activity best being used in a social studies class. For example, if the class is studying Colonial times, each group could be given a specific area or person during the Colonial times. This activity could also lend itself to a science class researching specific scientific information as well as a language arts class when doing research on a specific author, genre, topic, etc.

Kathleen Grupe

[|Description of a Teacher's Wiki for Book Reviews (including his comments about the Wiki)] A Teacher's Wiki for Book Reviews
 * Wikis for Book Reviews**

As librarians, we will continually be making book recommendations to students. Wikis could be a great way of allowing the students to also seek recommendations from other students.

The first website above describes a teacher's wiki for book reviews, including his comments about the Wiki. The second website links directly to the same teacher's book review wiki. In the comments, he answers several questions that you (as teachers or librarians) might have about the effectiveness of the project, the scope of the project, the rules he sets up for his students, the amount of inappropriate comments he has had posted, the different settings for the Wiki, etc. The comments are quite useful, and the wiki itself is interesting--to see how it is set up and to view the students' reviews.

I think this would be a very useful way to use wikis in the library. The librarian could create a Wiki that linked to different genres or authors or book titles, and students (whether just from pleasure reading or as an assignment from their teachers) could post comments/reviews about the books they have read. I did a similar thing with a reading blog for my students (in my English classes), which you can view [|here]. (If you click on a book title, you can see the comments/reviews that students posted about the book after the book's description.) I think the Wiki would possibly be even easier to use than the blog, although I did like having the ability to tag the books as more than one subject in the blog. A library Wiki could be linked from the library's home page, so that all students could access it from the library or from home.

~Lauren Wolter


 * Wikis For Librarians**

lmnet.wikispaces.com This wiki has all sorts of lessons to use in your library. I accessed the various support material to help teach lessons on using the Dewey Decimal System. There is allot of activities to do here such as scavenger cards, brochures, and posters to help teach elementary students what the Dewey Decimal system is used for and how to use it. http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/Dewey+Decimal+System On the side menu there are many more useful wikis to use in your library. This wiki also includes several booklists. I thought the "Must-Have Graph Novels" list was an interesting one. I know the campus librarian where I teach is trying to slowly increase the library's collection so I'm thinking of passing this wiki onto her. http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/Must-Have+Graph+Novels+Secondary Another wiki called "Best Lessons" includes substitute lessons for grades K through 4th grade. That might come in handy and it is interesting to see what other librarians are having their subs do while they have to be out. http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/Best+Lessons At the top of this same "Best Lesson" page on this wiki, the librarian included a link to "Biography Stew" and her photos of "Biography Hash". The librarian leads the viewer through her lesson and activities she uses to teach about biographies. She includes a graphic organizer for biographies, a PowerPoint she created as an example on Melville Dewey, and a visual recipe that students actually create a trail mix (Biography Hash) to remind themselves of the parts of biography research. [|http://www.k12.hi.us/%7Ecfoster/kaiserproject/ainah/gr3index.html]

Diane Rausch


 * School Wiki**

http://dhs.wikispaces.com/ The Decatur High School library wiki provides an excellent example of a wiki used as a school library's main website. Announcements, articles and resources for specific and general subjects, links to the library catalog, citation tools, test practice and resources for standardized and other testing, teacher resources, and links to pathfinders to topics such as college and school subjects are all included in this wiki. The discussion area includes posts made by library staff with additional helpful information for users.

I think a wiki is a wonderful way of providing an information and contact source for library users in a school system. Especially for librarians who do not have the time or knowledge to create a website from scratch. It provides a simple and effective template for the librarian. I would implement this technology in much the same way that eh Decatur High School library has: providing helpful links to library resources and outside resources for all users. However, this wiki seems like it is not often updated and could be more heavily used by users. I would add more daily/weekly updated points of interest such as book selections, new books, and news on current events in an attempt to encourage heavier use of the site. I would also try to make the discussions more heavily used by asking opinion questions about the library, resources, current events, and the content of library materials that would encourage answers and feedback. Wikis can be a wonderful tool for librarians and users to stay in contact and help each other.

~Britny LaMunyon

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 * Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki**

Created by Meredith Farkas, the Head of Instructional Initiatives at Norwich University in Vermont and adjunct faculty member at San Jose State University’s School of Library and Information Science, Library Success is a wiki where librarians can collaborate and share their tips and tricks of the trade. Farkas is not a newbie to the wiki world. She organized the ALA 2005 and 2006 Conference Wikis and is the author of //Social Software in Libraries: Building Collaboration//. Moreover, her experience with the ALA wikis prompted her to share her insights on what makes a good wiki. You can read her comments about the ALA 2005 Chicago wiki and the beginnings of the Library Success wiki at Farkas' "Information Wants to be Free" blog ([] .) After her success with the 2005 ALA wiki, Farkas decided to try her luck again. This time, she was inspired to provide librarians with a "one-stop-shop for inspiration." (Information Wants to be Free blog) Thus, Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki was created to organize and collect outstanding success stories librarians around the country were willing to share.

Library Sucess offers members in its community a wide range of information that include help with management, programming, readers' advisory, selling your library and technology. I particularly enjoyed the section on programming for kids and teens. This section includes success stories on "Boys' and Girls' Summer Book Groups", "Youth Services Success with Boys' Program", "Blogs/Websites to Watch" and a great section on gaming in the library.

This is a great wiki to post your own library success stories. Moreover, if you need inspiration for your library, this is a good place to start. Library Success is full of links to other websites and electronic resources that can aid all librarians.

Michelle Moore

http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/
 * Web Tools 4 u 2 Use**

When I started this assignment my goal was to find a site for social networking and I ended up finding a lot more! This is a wiki designed specifically for school library media specialists and is full of information and sharing opportunities for many Web 2.0 technologies such as social bookmarking, blogs, and podcasting. For each technology there is an opportunity to share how you use the technology in your library, basic information on what the technology is, types of sites with explanations that offer the service (such as Twitter and Facebook for social networking), and even a list of ideas on how to use the technology in your library.

This is really a teaching wiki and what better way to use a wiki in your library than to teach. I think creating a wiki for you campus that focuses on technology like the Web Tools 4 u 2 Use wiki is a wonderful way to introduce technology to your students, teachers, and parents. Creating a page for each technology you introduce that includes a description, a place to share comments, and a place to highlight student projects throughout the year will spark learning in a whole new way.

Theresa Sims


 * Web Tools 4 U 2 Use**

http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/Wikis

This extremely useful wiki offers over fifty suggestions for the practical use of wikis within the school library media center, as well as many other helpful resources for setting up, using, and maintaining your school library’s wiki. It is basically divided up into six different parts.

1) Using Wikis in the School Library Media Center – Offers suggestions for using wikis in school libraries. Some of the suggestions include publicizing special events, creating library media websites, publishing slideshows and photos, collaborating with teachers to provide vetted unit-or subject-based resources, creating web pages on temporary topics, and communicating with parents. 2) Five to Test Drive – Lists that include helpful resources like LM_Net Wiki, a site where school librarians can share handouts, forms, presentations, and ideas; and Digital Bookends, which is another resource site for school librarians. One of the lists also includes the top five sites for creating wikis (according to school library media specialists in 2008). 3) More to Explore – Links to websites and wikis that school librarians would find helpful. Some of the sites listed are additional school librarian resources, including TeacherLibrarian Wiki, as well as a link to ALA’s wiki on topics such as Second Life, book awards, staff development, etc. Links to ATN’s reading lists and Texas School Librarians’ Wikispace can also be found here. 4) Learn More! – Here you will find tutorials on topics like getting started in Wikispaces, improving your wiki, working with Peanut Butter Wiki, and locating wikis on specific topics. 5) More Info - Additional resources on a variety of topics. Some of the ideas include using wikis in the K-12 classroom, best practices for setting up library wikis, ideas for using wikis in education, and ideas for creating student portfolios. 6) Rubrics – Links to Rubistar and iRubric, where you can find ready-made rubrics or create your own for just about any topic. The rubrics found on iRubric can also be embedded in webpages or wikis.

Jennie Calhoun