An Information Skills Workout: Wikis and Collaborative Writing

An Information Skills Workout: Wikis and Collaborative Writing

     This article gives an overview on wikis and how they can be used by teachers and librarians to supplement their classes. It discusses what wikis are exactly and how they can be introduced to students. It is important that students know the difference between adding to someone else’s wiki to further the discussion and vandalizing someone’s wiki. Once students understand this concept and how to develop and maintain a wiki, they are ready to use it for their classes. Using wikis for literature discussion is one way they are being used in school settings. They can be used to discuss story elements, introduce new books, or simply express an option on a book. Lastly, the article mentions that if teacher librarians start using wikis, we need to create terms of use for them. This will help maintain a healthy wiki environment which in turn will promote healthier learning habits.

       As our textbook stated as well as this article, it is very important to have good classroom management (with technology in mind) as well as have things such as terms of use. This will help us, as educators and facilitators, do just that...be able to facilitate not having to focus on management issues. With this in mind, having this foundation is a necessary start to using wikis to help supplement classroom curriculum.

Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (2007). An information skills workout: Wikis and collaborative writing. Teacher     Librarian, 34(5), 57-59,71. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from Research Library Core databse.