Here's a nice little quote that makes sense to me:
"Blogs and wikis strike me as polar opposites in terms of whom they work for. Blogs are for people who have something to say and want a place to say it, separate from other conversations. Wikis are for people who wish to contribute behind the scenes, building something organically. Both are great media; I find it interesting that they are so different in terms of the flavor of the contribution. Both permit, well, larger conversations; a blog is far less ephemeral than one's contributions on an email discussion group, and wikis accrete content with each modification. And both allow the reader to put the content in context."
Bates, Mary Ellen. "Communications two point oh!(info pro)(blogs, wikis as medium of expression for people)(Viewpoint essay)." EContent 30.5 (June 2007): 23(1). InfoTrac OneFile. Thomson Gale. Jones Library, Inc.. 26 July 2007
That said, I'm using this blog as a paperless place to file thoughts and ideas I want to be able to locate when I need them.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Proposal for School-Wide Vocabulary Wiki
Okay, so – I have been wildly distracted this week by the coming of HP & the Deathly Hallows and Wizardstock at Harvard Yard. I now have my book, though I cannot bring myself to read it; my children have grown up with Rowling’s characters. I could not bear it if awful things happened to Neville again, or if Hagrid is killed. In any case, it has ceased to become a work-stopping distraction.
Wikis!
Here is what a wiki is:
“The simplest online database that could possibly work.
Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.
Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself.
Like many simple concepts, "open editing" has some profound and subtle effects on Wiki usage. Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that it encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content composition by nontechnical users.”
Source: http://www.wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki
From Ward Cunningham, originator of the wiki concept
I wrote in an earlier post about using wikis for group vocabulary building. This is an expansion of that idea.
A brilliant colleague of mine, Kathleen Bridgewater, is always looking for wonderful and inspiring ways to raise up student learning. Earlier this year, she taught some professional development sessions for our staff at Erving Elementary School and presented some exciting, fabulous, and very do-able ideas.
One of Kathleen’s main concepts is the idea that vocabulary, in order to be meaningful, must be taught in context. Lists of vocabulary words to look up (and write sentences with) are not so very useful if our goal is to expand our students’ actual use lexicons. Instead, we need to show kids how words are used, in phrases, idioms, the quirks of our language. Some tools she showed us are the Collins Cobuild Dictionary and the Collins Concordance Sample website.
Another of Kathleen’s awesome ideas is that vocabulary instruction can happen across the grades. She envisioned bulletin boards throughout the school, like a ribbon at 3rd-grader eye level, on which words that children were learning and using in their curriculum could be posted. The words, their definitions, the specific phrases in which they were encountered, and some visual representation of the meaning. While lining up for recess or bathroom trips, kids would be surrounded by useful words in useful context! Kathleen also envisioned days when everyone in the school, staff and kids, would wear words around their necks, like field day for vocabulary: People would be invited to stop in the halls and challenge one another to define the words. They could swap words, share words, talk about words! Kids might even stump teachers!
Here’s where the wikis come in. Earlier, I had written about classroom vocabulary wikis, updated daily by a designated student. I think that this could go school-wide. Words could be added for each subject area as they come up. Students will each get a turn to be their classroom’s daily word wiki recorder, entering the word, where they saw it, during what lesson, in what phrase, and the meaning that makes sense in that context. As the year goes on, students in other classes could add entries for the same words as they see them, with new phrases and shades of meaning. Everyone, including parents, could read the entries. One hope is that kids would become inspired to add words that they learn via their free-choice reading, too. The librarian (me) could oversee the project, making sure entries stayed true to the spirit of the project and school-worthy.
I think I would start by sharing the practicality of wikis with my colleagues in a professional development session. I might show them the pb wiki video clips that Dave shared with our class. I might also show them the UW videos, though we wouldn’t watch them together, as they’re too long for an afternoon professional development session! Next, I would show them the prototype vocabulary wiki that I have set up.
The biggest roadblock to vocabulary wiki success would probably be time. Teachers are so busy. They might like this idea or be inspired by this, but wonder where they are going to find the time to get comfortable with using the wiki so that they can turn around and show kids how to do it. I think the solution is for me, the librarian, to be the keeper of the wiki. I’ll set it up, I’ll maintain the content. I’ll train everyone during a professional development session so that they don’t have to carve out time to learn. All staff members will get printed directions, and we’ll make a link both to the wiki and to the use directions from the school web page. We’ll practice together for an afternoon. There might be some staff who will choose not to use this in their daily practice, and that’s okay. But I can already see in my mind’s eye who will get excited about this and begin using it right away. Once we have some substantial entries and begin sharing the link with parents, I think things will really take off.
There are so many benefits!
1—Vocabulary building. Students will get tuned into discovering new words during their lessons and reading. When they see new words, they will grab them instead of sliding over them and hoping they are not important.
2—Community building across grades. Students will have a chance to read one another’s entries. They will be encouraged to talk with one another about them, especially if kids find that they are reading and enjoying the same novels or have the same non fiction interest.
3—Friendly competition. How many common phrases can you find that use that word? How many distinct definitions?
4—Critical thinking. Students will be asked to use at least two different dictionaries when recording definitions for the words they post. Which dictionaries are easiest to use? Which have meanings for more of the words? Which are easiest to understand? Kids might even write dictionary reviews!
5—Community building across roles. Staff, students, and parents will all be invited to read and contribute. Parents will have a bigger window into how their children spend their days. Staff will learn more about their colleagues’ curricula. Staff will get a glimpse of the thinking and writing styles of the children that are coming their way in future years. Kids will get to contribute to something big and exciting.
6—Technology skills. Students will learn to use this technology.
7—Archive. The wiki can serve as an ongoing, always-accessible archive of vocabulary learning. Words can be revisited at any time, from any computer. This can be an incredible organizational tool for kids and staff alike.
8—Opportunities for kids with different learning styles. Kids can each work at their own speeds. The writing can be done at home or at school, during a designated class period or during any other time if kids need more time to reflect and choose their words. Kids will also have limitless opportunities to revisit and add to their entries. Such efforts can be tracked by the teacher via the page history archive and time stamp features. Kids can get credit for their enthusiasm, their effort, their time put in, as well as their final products.
Wikis!
Here is what a wiki is:
“The simplest online database that could possibly work.
Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly.
Wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows the organization of contributions to be edited in addition to the content itself.
Like many simple concepts, "open editing" has some profound and subtle effects on Wiki usage. Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site is exciting in that it encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content composition by nontechnical users.”
Source: http://www.wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki
From Ward Cunningham, originator of the wiki concept
I wrote in an earlier post about using wikis for group vocabulary building. This is an expansion of that idea.
A brilliant colleague of mine, Kathleen Bridgewater, is always looking for wonderful and inspiring ways to raise up student learning. Earlier this year, she taught some professional development sessions for our staff at Erving Elementary School and presented some exciting, fabulous, and very do-able ideas.
One of Kathleen’s main concepts is the idea that vocabulary, in order to be meaningful, must be taught in context. Lists of vocabulary words to look up (and write sentences with) are not so very useful if our goal is to expand our students’ actual use lexicons. Instead, we need to show kids how words are used, in phrases, idioms, the quirks of our language. Some tools she showed us are the Collins Cobuild Dictionary and the Collins Concordance Sample website.
Another of Kathleen’s awesome ideas is that vocabulary instruction can happen across the grades. She envisioned bulletin boards throughout the school, like a ribbon at 3rd-grader eye level, on which words that children were learning and using in their curriculum could be posted. The words, their definitions, the specific phrases in which they were encountered, and some visual representation of the meaning. While lining up for recess or bathroom trips, kids would be surrounded by useful words in useful context! Kathleen also envisioned days when everyone in the school, staff and kids, would wear words around their necks, like field day for vocabulary: People would be invited to stop in the halls and challenge one another to define the words. They could swap words, share words, talk about words! Kids might even stump teachers!
Here’s where the wikis come in. Earlier, I had written about classroom vocabulary wikis, updated daily by a designated student. I think that this could go school-wide. Words could be added for each subject area as they come up. Students will each get a turn to be their classroom’s daily word wiki recorder, entering the word, where they saw it, during what lesson, in what phrase, and the meaning that makes sense in that context. As the year goes on, students in other classes could add entries for the same words as they see them, with new phrases and shades of meaning. Everyone, including parents, could read the entries. One hope is that kids would become inspired to add words that they learn via their free-choice reading, too. The librarian (me) could oversee the project, making sure entries stayed true to the spirit of the project and school-worthy.
I think I would start by sharing the practicality of wikis with my colleagues in a professional development session. I might show them the pb wiki video clips that Dave shared with our class. I might also show them the UW videos, though we wouldn’t watch them together, as they’re too long for an afternoon professional development session! Next, I would show them the prototype vocabulary wiki that I have set up.
The biggest roadblock to vocabulary wiki success would probably be time. Teachers are so busy. They might like this idea or be inspired by this, but wonder where they are going to find the time to get comfortable with using the wiki so that they can turn around and show kids how to do it. I think the solution is for me, the librarian, to be the keeper of the wiki. I’ll set it up, I’ll maintain the content. I’ll train everyone during a professional development session so that they don’t have to carve out time to learn. All staff members will get printed directions, and we’ll make a link both to the wiki and to the use directions from the school web page. We’ll practice together for an afternoon. There might be some staff who will choose not to use this in their daily practice, and that’s okay. But I can already see in my mind’s eye who will get excited about this and begin using it right away. Once we have some substantial entries and begin sharing the link with parents, I think things will really take off.
There are so many benefits!
1—Vocabulary building. Students will get tuned into discovering new words during their lessons and reading. When they see new words, they will grab them instead of sliding over them and hoping they are not important.
2—Community building across grades. Students will have a chance to read one another’s entries. They will be encouraged to talk with one another about them, especially if kids find that they are reading and enjoying the same novels or have the same non fiction interest.
3—Friendly competition. How many common phrases can you find that use that word? How many distinct definitions?
4—Critical thinking. Students will be asked to use at least two different dictionaries when recording definitions for the words they post. Which dictionaries are easiest to use? Which have meanings for more of the words? Which are easiest to understand? Kids might even write dictionary reviews!
5—Community building across roles. Staff, students, and parents will all be invited to read and contribute. Parents will have a bigger window into how their children spend their days. Staff will learn more about their colleagues’ curricula. Staff will get a glimpse of the thinking and writing styles of the children that are coming their way in future years. Kids will get to contribute to something big and exciting.
6—Technology skills. Students will learn to use this technology.
7—Archive. The wiki can serve as an ongoing, always-accessible archive of vocabulary learning. Words can be revisited at any time, from any computer. This can be an incredible organizational tool for kids and staff alike.
8—Opportunities for kids with different learning styles. Kids can each work at their own speeds. The writing can be done at home or at school, during a designated class period or during any other time if kids need more time to reflect and choose their words. Kids will also have limitless opportunities to revisit and add to their entries. Such efforts can be tracked by the teacher via the page history archive and time stamp features. Kids can get credit for their enthusiasm, their effort, their time put in, as well as their final products.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Click Away!
Hooray! Double click on any word and you will see a pop-up window with a definition or article from answers.com. I think this is a very cool tool that students will enjoy using with their online writings. Let me know what you think.
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