Wiki Waste or Wiki Wonder?

Collaborative wiki textbooks- a fascinating idea since I've always lamented the amount of money school systems spend on traditional textbooks that become quickly outdated. A couple of articles, 7 Things You Should Know About Wikis and Wiki in a K-12 Classroom, highlight the advantages of creating collaborative textbooks: they allow everyone to be a publisher and give us the potential to influence how we create containers of knowledge on the web. The Wild About Wikis article lists a wiki designed for collaboratively creating books: wikibooks. This wiki even has a section for wiki junior books that are written for (and sometimes by) kids.

Great idea, this use of wiki I thought. But then I happened upon a blog disputing the practice of creating wiki textbooks. "Even experts in IT debunk wikis as just another form of groupware, prone to fall into disuse as wikis are a waste of time," writes Mary Ellen Lepionka in her Atlantic Path Publishing blog. Mrs. Lepionka's concern is focused on the standards of accuracy and veracity. Good point, I say to myself. Then she goes on to say that there is a place for wikis. (Oh yea! I say.) This can occur when the creation of wiki-texts provides a context for skill development, such as developing search, thinking, judgment, and organization skills.

But there's more. She gives the example of the students of educator Clay Burrell creating a wiki-textbook. Let's hear about it directly from Mr. Burrell on this video:



Here is the actual class wiki textbook: A Broken World
Please take the time to look at it. Also, Mr. Burrell and his students began a worldwide collaboration project called 1001 Flat World Tales where students throughout the world are writing creative stories together on the 1001 Flat World Tale wiki. After analysis, the best stories are published on the corresponding website where you can not only read the stories but also hear the students reading on podcasts and offer feedback that they use to revise. The plan is to create a free ebook with the tales and a paperback book.

So, are wikis a waste or a wonder? Mr. Burrell's students have demonstrated the power of creating a collaborative project and publishing to a real world audience through a wiki. They have and continue to create wiki wonders.

Mrs. Dilbert Discovers Gabcast

The fictitious Mrs. Dilbert (remember her?) is back and wants to learn about podcasting. And I have just the idea of how to get her initiated into this wonderful world of Web 2.0 communication.

Kristin Fontichiaro, in her Podcasting 101 article (School Library Media Activities Monthly), recommends using podcasting in the classroom to help improve writing skills. Since students will be communicating with a real world audience, podcasting can teach them how to develop their writer's voice. She suggests using Audacity software but also mentions a free form of podcasting that records through the phone......Gabcast! We all know how much Mrs. Dilbert loves to use the phone (evidenced two weeks ago with her tech problems phone calls).

Gabcast, www.gabcast.com, is a podcasting and audio blogging website where you can easily create and distribute audio content. Mrs. Dilbert is stressing out about the Georgia Writing Assessment that her 5th graders will be experiencing and has been spending hours trying to teach them writing strategies. But the students are falling asleep! By using Gabcast as an instructional tool and as a publishing tool for her 5th graders, the students will be waking up from their semi-comatose state.

Since I like to make sure that I've tried what I recommend, I embedded below a Gabcast selection that I recorded today. In the Gabcast, I'm teaching how to use a picture book to improve characterization in writing.

Listen up, Mrs. Dilbert! Press play.

Gabcast! Power of Picture Books #1 - Owl Babies Help Describe a Character

Using Martin Waddell's book, Owl Babies, learn how to improve students' writing ability regarding characterization.




I found the instructions on the website easy to follow, and I enjoyed doing this over the phone- felt like I was talking to one of my buddies. The introduction music is from the Freeplay Music website, www.freeplaymusic.com. (I messed up at the end and used a short clip that was also on the playlist, but I didn't want to take the time to re-record.)

For working with Mrs. Dilbert, I'd use a scaffolding approach. First, I'd create a Gabcast while explaining the steps to her, then we'd do one together, and then she'd do one with my feedback. Next we'd discuss ways that she could use Gabcast in the classroom- for instruction with writing strategy mini-lessons and for creating engaging ways for the students to publish their work. What a motivation it will be for them to polish and publish their Gabcast stories!

Mrs. Dilbert is on her way to becoming a podcasting pioneer.