Collaboration is a key ingredient in the learning process. Darlene Fichter explains in her article, "Using Wikis to support Online Collaboration in Libraries" how easy and beneficial it is to use wikis. It is an excellent tool for online collaboration. People are sharing or creating new information without having to be the "real author" of this information; they are able to add or delete any information to improve or reorganize the material. This seems as though it would be very helpful and foster collaborative efforts in both academic and business. We are able to help each other.
There is one thing that I find disturbing in using wikis. They might not be authoritative enough because anyone is able to add or delete information to a wiki. This information may or may not be true and it can be misleading to the reader. While working with students I would want to offer the most authentic and authoritative knowledge.
Wikis are here and another tool of technology that has proven interesting to learn about. I am passionate about team work and collaborative projects. By using this tool in libraries we may be able to accomplish more while using less time. I have looked at some of the suggested library wiki sites and plan on exploring more. It would be helpful to collaborate lesson plans between the classroom and the library online.
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2 comments:
Mary, We need to separate our association to wikepedia as our main connection to the wiki. It is a excellent source, but you are right to use it in the classroom as a authentic source is tricky.
I, personally see wikis as a tool to connect with other students, teachers, librarians, etc...that have the same interest. By allowing editing, commenting, and posting links, pictures, sources, books, it can create a fun place to visit with your peers on the web. There are so many great sources other than wikipedia for children, I think by educating them about the authenticity of this and other web sites is crucial for developing evaluation skills now. We need to see beyond wikipedia. What do you think?
Allison
Allison makes a great point about people's knowledge of wikis revolving around Wikipedia. I think that, as folks see wikis used in their work settings and for creative purposes, they'll eventually learn to assess which wikis are best in which contexts. All that said, I still love Wikipedia. I would argue that we should be teaching people how to make Wikipedia better so that the authority problems it has are improved over time.
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