Library Lion

Back in 2002, when I ditched a 30 year career in film and video production to become a librarian, I naively thought that I would be entering a world of books and literature and leaving behind all of that “glorious” technology that had defined my professional life for so long.  Wrong!  I may have entered the ever expanding world of children’s literature, but I have hardly left behind the even more expansive world of audio-visual production, now morphing into its online incarnation.

When I view the brave new world of Wiki’s and online videos, I feel that I have been transported back to the Golden Age of Television.  The production value of some Wikis can be quite sophisticated.  Of particular interest is the Flat Classroom Project 2007.  This project used the talents of students from seven schools in five countries on five continents located in seven different time zones.  They created digital stories based on the six senses of the conceptual age from Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, and the central thesis of Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat.  I found that the Wiki was well designed and encouraged collaboration, which was one of the goals of this project and of any Wiki.  This was quite a feat, given that the participants were spread across the globe.  That very fact reinforced Friedman’s thesis.  Within his keynote address for the project, Dean Shareski does a good job of imparting sound design concepts for keeping the videos for the project simple, clean, and interesting.  Since so much of Web content is visually cluttered, this is sound advice, indeed.

Although audio-visual content is an integral part of many Wikis, their most outstanding characteristic is their collaborative aspect.  This is clearly evident in Vicki Davis’ blog post, Wiki Wiki Teaching.  What began as an assignment for teams of students to define six Web 2.0 concepts, evolved into a collaborative study hall where students were able to help each other to study and to work on projects.  This evolution occurred in the space of one week.  The excitement of the students and their enthusiasm for the technology, is clearly attributable to the Wiki’s ease of use and their ability to incorporate it into their projects.

As interesting as I find the Wiki’s produced by secondary students, our student population is primary.  Upon viewing Mrs. Kubler’s Reading Group and their group analysis of Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting, I thought of our fifth grade’s book club.  This could be the place to begin a Wiki in our school.

Perhaps, with Web 2.0, we are beyond the previous comparison with the the Golden Age of Television.  Maybe we are now at the point of the first color broadcast or even the first satellite transmission.  Nonetheless, production value is bound become more sophisticated, but, as it does, it is paramount to remember that meaningful content and active collaboration are the key ingredients for a successful Wiki.

Filed under: Uncategorized