Well, I first heard of Wikis last summer in a technology workshop. I thought it was a pretty crazy name and didn't really understand it. But now that I have read about it through Library2Play and have used it myself, I can see some benefits as well as some drawbacks.
In my class for summer school, we were required to do a group project. We were to create a lesson a librarian could do. We made a Wiki scavenger hunt in order to introduce students to the online catalog in the library. It was so easy to use. I am glad we did that so that I was able to get hands-on experience with it and to become more familiar with its features. I just wish it had more templates and "cutesy" ideas/themes/etc =).
I read an article called Using Wikis to Create Online Communities. This really gave me a couple of good ideas of how I can use Wikis both in my classroom and in my future library. This coming school year, I hope to start a Wiki in order for my students to post reviews and comments about books they are reading personally and for school. I am going to have my students participate in the Bluebonnet Award this year. I would love for them to post reviews about the books and create a sort of "book talk". This way, their parents can see what we are doing and hopefully become involved in the process. The only thing about Wikis that concerns me is the privacy issue, but I can easily overcome that with setting the security of the page myself.
As a librarian, the above website also mentioned that it is great for collaboration. It cuts the need for numerous and confusing emails. Teachers, administrators, and librarians can post ideas, edit documents, add comments, and so on all in one spot. Time is always an issue for collaboration. With a wiki, collaboration can be done anytime, anywhere!
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