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One day early in the school year I was talking to my principal and media specialist about a research project Holly and I had completed on Web 2.0. When I typed in the URL to our wikispace, Schools 2.0: Innovations for 21st-Century Classrooms, a big read “ACCESS DENIED” message popped up on the screen. There I sat telling my 
boss about how great the free program wikispaces was, and at that moment I could not substantiate my point with an example. However, I was not going be daunted so easily; therefore, I began gathering information to prove my point to the powers that be.
boss about how great the free program wikispaces was, and at that moment I could not substantiate my point with an example. However, I was not going be daunted so easily; therefore, I began gathering information to prove my point to the powers that be.A wiki is defined as “a Web site in which content can be created and edited by a community of users.” Anyone can design them, and today’s interfaces do not even require advanced HTML coding skills to build an attractive site. Once a tool used strictly for collaboration within the IT field, wikis are gaining in popularity as a vehicle for disseminating information on the World Wide Web. Anyone with a purpose can author content. Getting started is as easy as 1-2-3!
As mentioned, wikis were first used by a select group of technologically elite—computer programmers. Their primary focus was group projects necessitating collaboration between members near and far. Members had the abilities to add or edit content. Used as a meeting of the minds, wikis functioned as an online gathering place where anyone could share ideas as well as contribute to an end result.
The emergence of Wikipedia in 2001 has caused wikis to become mainstream. They are still used for business purposes by project managers but are also touted by teachers, students, and media specialists who use them for their group activities. Our class wiki, TechForMediaServices is one example of instructional usage.
One argument I encounter every time I utter the words wiki, wikispace, or Wikipedia is
reliability. It is a known fact that the content found in Wikipedia is written and edited by people from all over the world. Arguably, it has grown to be the largest reference Web site on the Internet. Despite heavy scrutiny, Wikipedia provides an excellent example of how wikis can be used to facilitate communication of information and collaboration among users (Boeninger, 2007).
So if wikis are so flawed, why is everyone doing it? Well, everyone except a staggering number of public schools, that is.
Apparently, some school districts fail to see the value of using wikis in classrooms and media centers. They have classified them as social networking sites rather than as educational tools. Take our district, for example. Whereas Wikipedia managed to skirt around their industrial-strength filter, any and all wikis are blocked. I am assuming in their minds online collaboration = social networking by where social networking is deemed evil.
At this, you can imagine my reaction:
Mainly, I find myself frustrated with limited options. Sure, there are some risks associated with Web 2.0 resources. But some suit specific educational purposes. Risks occur when students provide strangers with too much information or venture into cyberspace to places they do not belong. However, there are so many cool projects media specialists and teachers can do using a wiki, activities that are good wholesome fun. Examples of practical uses include student portfolios, science projects, media center homepages, collaboration between teachers, research guides, and literature circles to name a few.Therefore, for me, the benefits far outweigh the risks of using wikis in a school library. The practice of participating in wikis provides students the opportunity to come together and bring new experiences to a group as well as learn from existing practices. A wiki itself can function as both a site of participation and the record of a group's collective interactions. Wikis lend themselves to the creation of knowledge-building networks. These networks strive to engage students in producing new knowledge through authentic collaborative activities. Through this collaboration, learners take responsibility for their own learning goals, identify the problem as well as the gaps in the understanding of the material, and decide how to solve problems. When ideas are shared publicly, peer groups are able to critique and offer alternative explanations. Following this, learners are able to refine concepts and bridge gaps in understanding (Grant, 2006).
Below are some wiki resources to get going:
@WIKI
cospire
CourseForum
EditMe
intodit
Luminotes
MediaWiki
PBWiki
PicoWiki
SuperWiki
Traduwiki
Twiki®
Wetpaint
Wikia
WikiBios
Wikibooks
Wikispaces
cospire
CourseForum
EditMe
intodit
Luminotes
MediaWiki
PBWiki
PicoWiki
SuperWiki
Traduwiki
Twiki®
Wetpaint
Wikia
WikiBios
Wikibooks
Wikispaces
As I think about wikis, I think about ways to convince the district to permit them. One possible solution is to use a self-hosted option to created pages and find a way to host these within our schools’ networks. Another possibility is creating a case for the educational use of wikis. This can be better achieved by showing an example of a practical use. I think the key question becomes “Is prohibiting out-of-the box learning really productive?”
Boeninger, C. F. (2007). The wonderful world of wikis: applications for libraries. In Courtney, N. (Ed.). Library 2.0 and beyond. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Grant, L. (2006, May). Using wikis in school: A case study [PDF Document]. Retrieved October 9, 2009, from http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/discussion_papers/Wikis_in_Schools.pdf
