Honestly, my thoughts about Wikis are pretty neutral; I could either take or leave them. While I am a huge proponent of technology and innovation in the media center or any medium for that matter, I have been ambivalent about wikis. This is in large part due to the fact that I prefer simplicity and there seems to be too many steps to create or edit them in my opinion. Further, my experiences prior to and during this course are wikis are somewhat arbitrary and unreliable. I have seen literature suggesting wikis be used to keep groups or individuals abreast of information as simplistic as meeting minutes, or as complicated as biographical information on presidential candidates such as John McCain and Barack Obama.
For meeting minutes, I simply prefer email. Why should I go through another portal for something so simple? I do not believe in leveraging technology just because it is new. New doest not always equate to efficient and being a bottom line individual, give me efficiency.
Relative to biographical information, the first time I had the opportunity to explore wikis in-depth, I was gravely disappointed. I had already been cautioned by educators and friends alike that wikis could be modified by ANYONE. That said, I heard them, but did not LISTEN. One day I asked my students to complete a table containing biographical information on each presidential candidate; at that time, there were quite a few. Much to my chagrin, a student raised their hand after seeking information on Barack Obama in Wikipedia to share with me the passage. Drum roll please… It said “Barack is a terrorist and he sucks…” over and over again in all capital letters. While I greatly appreciated the teachable moment, I was gravely disappointed to witness how others leverage technology to degrade others. I do realize this was an isolated incident, but feel very strongly that wikis should be a tool monitored with extensive checks and balances. Some of which include invitation only participation, passwords, and an application process.
Perhaps one day I will absolutely love wikis. However, today my take on it is like some weather forecasts, “fair and partly cloudy”.
3 comments:
Jami, I see-saw a bit back and forth. I can certainly see your side as valid. It seems that more trouble could be made if it is not monitored 24/7 and in this busy world, who has the time? I do think that if it is going to take off it will be something that I will be able to get a hold of an learn easily. I really don't fear it, I just wish if it were going to turn into something great that it would go a head and do it!
I am in line with your thinking about wikis. I also could take them or leave them, but at this time, I have a tendency to leave them. Most likely my lack of desire to use them stems from my feeling of ingnorance about wikis and the fact that I am just trying to get through this first year in the media center. Like you, I also prefer the simplest method to convey information, and for me, that is email! I haven't had the same experience with Wikipedia as you have had, but that just proves that it can happen. Thanks for your post.
Yes! Your I liked your post because you backed up your opinion so well! I guess I also dont see what all the hoop la is with wikis. Even though there were some good examples like the one from Decatur High, some of the other media center wikis left me wanting more. You talked about meeting minutes via email would be better but I think that it is a good idea to have a wiki with the minutes, because they can be accessed from anywhere and if someone deletes them and needs them again they can check out the wiki.
You are so right about the need to monitor access to edit wikis since people with negative agendas can just add information at any time
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