Wikis in the Media Center

 

Wikis are very easy to use and have been around for several years now. Many students are very comfortable with Wikis and find them relatively easy to use. This makes them a great communication medium for use in a media center.

Many teachers use them to post assignments and questions for students to complete and submit through the wiki. One of the math teachers at my school has used a wiki for his math classes with excellent results. They can get onto the wiki at home, school, or wherever they are with a computer and internet access. All of the students knew they were accountable for their wiki assignments each week and took full ownership under this electronic medium.

As for the media center, a wiki could provide a place that has frequent updates on new books, media center procedures, activities to help them understand the Dewey Decimal System, as well as many other items. A wiki would also be a great place for students to help one another with tasks like citing a book or periodical. A wiki allows students the ability to edit the site and gives them a sense of ownership in the media center. The students can work together to collaborate on book activities and reviews of books they have read. This can help promote the media center because students see all of the activities going on there.

The article “A Wiki Gives a Worthy Book New Life,” by Amy Bowllan from The School Library Journal gives an excellent example of how to take a book that a class or group is reading and turn it into a valuable learning experience where the students are all involved.  The students do far more than discuss the book and write a paper. They can experience the book, the places where the story takes place, and even cook something that is a traditional food for one of the characters in the book.

There are so many uses for wikis in an educational environment. Anyone can start out with a simple wiki and continue to add to its content as they get new ideas and want to add existing resources. A wiki can also allow others to help you add meaningful content for all library patrons. With patience and practice, you can have a very useful, lasting resource for your media center that fits everyone’s needs.

Wikis

 A Wiki is a mean of communication for multiple users to edit pages or create pages on a certain subject or topic. There is an unlimited amount of ways that Wikis can be used for.  Lots of businesses, teachers and media specialists use Wikis to collaborate with other users.  

Wikis were created in the 1990’s and have drastically evolved since then.   There are many features that Wikis allow their users to incorporate such as bulleted items, hyperlinks, adding of multiple pages and embed images.  They are also very accessible. Creators and users are able to edit and view from any network connection.  Although Wikis can be created by anyone, some creators can make their Wikis private and users can only view their page by invitation.  Creators also have the option of making it public for anyone to view.  Wiki pages allow its users to post information, ask questions, and respond to original posts.  This allows communication to flow easy between the creator and the users.  There are no rules or regulations for formatting or content that is required for a Wiki, which allows its users to talk about a wide variety of topics and/or provide information.

There are many ways a media specialists can use Wiki pages in their media center.  Some ways might include:

• ·         Collaboration with teachers and students
• ·         Promoting upcoming events and news
• ·         Policies and procedures of the media center
• ·         Orientation
• ·         Information students need to know about how to use the different tools in the media center
• ·         General information about the media program
• ·         Lessons for different grade levels
• ·         New and deleted items/books/materials of the media center
• ·         Information about the school that students, teachers and parents should know about

 Wikis can also be used by classroom teachers.  Some ways might include:

• ·         Classroom rules and regulations
• ·         Homework and homework policies
• ·         Information on academic subjects
• ·         Upcoming events and dates for the classroom and/or the school
• ·         Special “shout outs” or notifications for students and parents
• ·         Orientation
• ·         An area for students to post questions about homework
• ·         Class discussions
• ·         Links to favorite academic websites 

Overall, Wikis are easy to create, navigate, and is a great communication source.  It is a wonderful way for people to comment on certain topics and provide instant feedback to questions from its users.  They are also a good source for storing information and gaining information as well.  With Wikis the possibilities are endless. 

Nicole, you added a great idea to the use of podcast by stating they are good to do for library routines. That is an excellent way for patrons to understand how their library works and what procedures to follow for book check-out among other things.

I also agree that podcasts and videocasts make things come alive for the person watching versus using e-mails or them reading over a document on a procedure or assignment.

Thank you for the ideas as I really do want to collect as many as possible so I can use podcasts to the fullest.

Marilyn Richardson

Podcasting and Videocasting

Podcasting and Videocasting

By: Nicole Stewart

Podcasting has come a long way in the last couple of years.  From a personal standpoint, this class was the first time I have every used podcasting.  It was interesting creating a podcast and I believe that through the use of podcasts and videocasts many helpful things can be completed in the media center.

The book, Library 2.0 and Beyond, gives a definition from The New Oxford Dictionary for podcasts stating, "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for download"  (Courtney, 2007).  Podcasts are videos recorded or created with images that have sound recording with them.  Podcasts are not a way for two way communication.  Podcasts are for one person to create and one person to watch.    

How can podcasting be useful in the media center?

There are many different ways podcasting can be used in the media center.  Here is a list of ways podcasting can be helpful:

• booktalks
• discussion about displays and exhibits
• individual podcasts
• interactive podcasts
• professional development 
• helping students learn about the media center and procedures and routines
• daily news
• upcoming news or event advertisement
• story time

There are many of these podcasting techniques that I have seen through different media center websites.  One media center website that I have viewed in the past created book talks for different series of books for students to watch at home.  These book talks would also include students discussing the book and asking questions to help other student's comprehend what was being read that week.  I believe that a neat way for podcasts to be used in the media center would be to send out media center news updates for teachers to view and also for students to view.  These could be tailored for either the teachers and students and would help with communication.  Another form of podcasting I have used through University of West Georgia courses is the individual podcasts.  I have created a podcast, but have also watched other podcasts that professors and other individuals have created about specific topics.  I think that individual podcasts would be helpful for teachers to view from a media specialist about policies and procedures for the upcoming school year and other information that the media specialists would need to share.  Podcasts make communication come alive.  Podcasts allow for someone to share information and ideas without writing or typing out the information.  

Videocasting is the same concept except a video is recorded of a person and the video is watched by individuals.  Videocasting and podcasting can be used in the same ways.  I have found video casting to be helpful in my course work through UWG and believe that videocasting allows for a better understanding than an email.  The viewer is able to see what the persons reaction is to information that is being shared, but once again this form of communication is one sided.  There is not exchange of communication.  It is for one person to record themselves while the viewer watched the videocast.

It will be interesting to see how podcasts and videocasts are incorporated into the media center in the future.  I firmly believe that this will be the future of communication and sharing information.  Pod/videocasts can be overwhelming and seem like a foreign way of communicating, but when learned and used they can be helpful tools that make communication easier and less time consuming for everyone involved.  

References

Courtney, N. (2007). Library 2.0 and beyond: Innovative technologies and tomorrow's user.              Westpoint: Libraries Unlimited.

Podcasting

     A podcast is a type of digital media consisting of audio, video, PDF, or ePub files. These archived Internet files can be accessed through a personal computer, laptop, or iPad and downloaded and transferred to a portable MP3 player, iPod, or smart phone.

     In recent years podcasting has become an important asset to the education world. The high demand for more technology, rigorous curriculum and a student-centered learning environment in the classroom brought about changes in the way teachers delivered their lessons and the way students learned. K-12 schools began adopting podcasting as one of the many instructional tools used to make sure these demands were met.

Benefits of Podcasting

Podcasting in education has many benefits. First, podcasting is inexpensive. Educational podcast can be easily downloaded or streamed from online at no cost. Podcasting is digital storytelling. All types of media can be broadcasted through podcasts such as news stories, biographies, and tutorials. Podcast are educational and can be interactive.

Uses of Podcasting in the Classroom

Teachers and students can use podcast for everyday educational purposes.

Teachers

• Display student work
• Information for parents or substitute
• School or class announcements
• Help Teach lessons, tests, and lectures
• Virtual Field Trips
• How-to-presentations
• Debates 

Students

• Oral reports
• Interviews
• Presentations and projects

Uses of Podcasting in the Media Center

Podcasts can also be vital tools in the media center as well.

• Book Talks
• Daily News
• Cyber Safety Tips
• Media Festival Projects
• Teach teachers and students how to create podcasts
• Lessons on AR, Destiny, etc.
• Display announcements such as new titles
• School News
• Story Time
• Library tour
• Foreign Languages (students, parents, and material)
• Teacher, volunteer, and student training
• Create audios for struggling readers
• Introduce the school-wide reading program to parents and teachers
• Casting on media webpage

Laverne

There are help documents that walk you through the process of adding yourself. I am trying to do it but can't remember everything. Let me know if the link I sent you works.

Marilyn

Welcome

Team 6, MEDT 7477, Fall 2012: Based on the student numbers and schedules, do your original blog posts here.
OPC