Welcome to Our Sandbox Wiki for SLJ's All Together Now 2.0 Learning!

Add a line or two here. Or create a new page. Or add an image. Explore. Play!

I visited two of the suggested wiki sites- "Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki"; school-Westward My eyes were opened to how much information can be placed on wiki site. The category entitled "Material Selection and Collection Maintenance" was my favorite because it contained lots of information that I am interested in as an LIS grad. student. Like for example, how to select materials for the library, organizing/ the collections,weed the collections, and book reviews by librarians. I also enjoyed the sample school wiki because I think that it contained lots of useful information for students and parents.Some of the information on this wiki included the current courses the teacher taught/the teacher's schedule,some of the students work/awards,and some useful resources. This is a great idea for me to keep in mind as a future media specialist. Carrie O.

Wow! Wikis open up all sorts of new possibilities for use in a school library. Great way to invigorate student participation as well include teachers and parents in the happenings of the library.-Kris S.

We are excited by the possibilties for in-house library use of wikis.

Okay, question for you - if wiki communication is hopefully going to replace group emails and/or supplement blogs, can wikis be subscribed to via RSS?  Is that something one would add to a sidebar in designing a wiki?  Or is there some simpler way to keep tabs on changes & new stuff?

Carol A (again)

I think that using wikis in the classroom would be a great way for students to teach one another.  They could view their peer's writing assignments and learn from them.  Reading other classmate's work could foster an environment where they teach the students around them, and also judge their own writing, and see how it compares to others' work.  By doing this, most students will raise the bar for themselves.  Jackie M.

While the serendipity of the web can be a huge time waster, sometimes it comes through for you! I linked to the wiki just below this which took me to another wiki which took me to a page on virtual art museums, on which I found reference to a book I've recently been (unsuccessfully) searching for!  (Milk, Eggs, Vodka -- an amusing compilation of found grocery lists - don't ask ;-)

Thanks for the excellent wiki model and the serendipitous experience!

Carol A

I am planning a collaboration wiki for my teachers. I have been looking at an example that Gina Webster created at Walkertown Middle School in Winston-Salem, NC. Her wiki is excellent. Walkertown is part of the second group of NC schools to receive Impact Model School grants. - Becky 

Of all the "Things" I've done so far for ATN, I think this is the most exciting one!  It was difficult to get to the exercises for this "thing" because the discovery resources were just too much fun and my mind went into overdrive. - Danna

I've really been enjoying the video segments that begin each "thing" - they're comprehensive yet concise, easy to understand, and they highlight what is unique about each topic - I like the way they used the camping trip example for wikis.  I think teachers would respond well to them.

My favorite wiki was Mr. Miller's English 10 class. 

I didn't realize wikis could be changed by anyone.  Does that make everyone in charge or is there someone who oversees it all?

Don't forget to check out my blog http://caedlib.edublogs.org

I have been trying to figure out a way to collaborate with my teachers on research projects.  I think a wiki would be perfect.  I could set up different wikipages for each grade level.  We could use them to identify projects they would like to do with their students.  We would be able to tweak it and define it without getting together afterschool or during conference times.  It's perfect!  I would also like to try using wikis with my students...but I wonder about how elementary students could get access to them.  I mean they don't have district logons until they reach middle or high school levels. 

I cringe when I open my inbox and it's littered with emails that would be so much more effective in a wiki. I work in a school library, and I love to share ideas with fellow library staff at other schools in the region... but please, STOP sending me emails about the "great new site" you found! Have you received this email? J. Librarian sends an email out to everyone talking about this new (to her) found site. Then someone sends a reply to the entire group to say they also enjoy the site. By the time the rounds are done... my inbox runneth over... and I've wasted precious time going through them all! PLEASE post your wonderful sites for us all to see on the wiki, so we can benefit from the sharing all together, without tiring out my poor old inbox.  Thx. Mona 

Wow, this is way easier than I thought it would be.  We are experimenting with using a wiki for information on RefWorks.  Though we will be adding the info, not opening it up to our public.  I'll have to thnk about which application make sense for which project. This is so much fun! Gail      

I'm frustrated with the lack of organization in Wikis.  Does wetpaint or wikispaces provide a table of contents tab or something so you can organize your pages?  Thanks.  Sara

I created a wiki once and jumped right in and created pages here and there. After about half an hour I realised I needed a plan! Sounds simple, but easy to lose site of. So that's about the extent of my advice with wikis - take a few moments to map out on paper a structure for your wiki (homepage, navigation/menu, subpages etc) then have fun creating it online. Warren

I'm going to try using a Wiki next year with our research units.  Some of our teachers have some great websites for their students to use, I've found lots of good ones, and the students often discover neat sites while searching.  This would ideal if I can get everyone to buy into it and contribute.  I'm not very advanced with using Wikis - only the simple stuff like this and updating the sidebar.  I've seen some really colorful and enticing wikis - maybe that would be a key to selling this idea. Here is the link to the one we started last year - http://ccmspathfinders.wikispaces.com/ - as you can see not much happening.  Not giving in though! Brenda

Now I think I can get staff in our department jazzed about using a wiki. Our library is developing one, but those with little knowledge of the new technologies have had a tough time understanding the concept. These exercises have provided me with some great ideas on how to get everyone motivated to participate and contribute.

Wikis seem like such great tools to use in both personal and professional areas.  I can't wait to try it next year with some students and teachers at my school.  Although many teachers don't think wikipedia is a good tool for research--I can now show them that some information from a wiki can be quite reliable.-

Aimee.   

I love wikis. I don't use them as much as i should but it is so hard to get people to learn something new. But this makes collaborating much easier than email. (which we still do!) I really feel that library professionals should do these exercises to better understand the new technologies that will aid our communication with one another and with our library patrons.---Sheena