Week 4 - Wikis

Week 4 is all about wonderful wikis. Wikis are web pages that anyone can edit. They are versatile and can be used for many different purposes. They are especially useful when you need a place for a group to collaborate on a project. The learning curve for many wikis is relatively low and they can not be broken. You can always revert back to an earlier version if an editing snafu occurs.

 

Objectives This Week

At the end of this week, you should:

  • have a general understanding of the way that wikis work.
  • be able to edit a wiki.
  • understand the pros and cons of different wiki platforms.
  • understand how libraries are using wikis with patrons and for internal knowledge-sharing.
  • have some ideas about best practices in implementing wikis, getting people to use them, and training them.

 

Presentations

This week's presentation is two for the price of one. Enjoy.

The Wonderful World of Wikis: Applications for Libraries - Chad Boeninger, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Ohio University and The "How" of Wikis - Starr Hoffman, Librarian for Digital Collections, Government Documents Department, University of North Texas Libraries

 

Activities

Please choose one of the following activities:

  1. Explore the Library Wikis listed below and write a blog post about the different ways you could use wikis in your library.
  2. Examine the wiki tools listed below and write a blog post outlining which you would choose to implement for your library and why.

 

Readings

Shonda Brisco. "Which Wiki is Right for You?" School Library Journal. May 2007.

Meredith Farkas. "Using Wikis to Create Online Communities." WebJunction.

Brian Lamb. "Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not." Educause Review.

 

Examples

Library Wikis

High School Online Collaborative Writing - a wiki that gathers writing projects of both educators and students from NY

YALSA Teen Tech Week - not technically a school example, but it is useful for librarians who work with teens and tweens

Biz Wiki - Ohio University, a very robust subject portal

IRead Wiki - Iowa Reader's Advisory

LISWiki - great introduction and a list of library wikis and library related wikis

 

Wiki Platforms

Hosted

Installed