#18 Wikis ... Hawiian for "QUICK"

Meredith Farkas's article promotes the use of wikis as a means  of opening up web design to the less "tech-savvy" people within the library community. As wikis requires only basis computer skills and no need for html language knowledge, most staff and patrons would be comfortable using this tool. Her recommendations for use include:

• Subject guides where patrons could add new sites as well as delete dead sites.
• Annotating Catalogue by patrons adding reviews about books.
• Community wiki where users shared advise about everyday issues.
• Intranet tool where school community could post important information that would be ongoing, rather than relying on emails. Tagging would aid the organisation of these posts.

My students use Wikipedia as their first option when researching information. They enjoy its quickness and the simple language used. However, it is essential to that the Information Literacy program emphasises the disadvantages as well. I recommend that students use Wikipedia as a starting place, but then refer to online  data bases where the information has been verified by experts.

Wikis: A Beginner's Look would be an excellent resource for teacher and staff training.
Library Success wiki provides a forum where librarians can share their expertise and advise.
Wikis in education is a wiki where educators can share tips about using wikis ... includes Ad-free education wikis.
Educational wikis provides information about how to use wikis in schools.

The school sample wiki shows also how membership can be restricted to school community only.
These wikis were great to get ideas from and it would be good to see Australian schools develop more. My school is currently looking at this Web2.0 option.