Original Post No. 2
Crystal Graham
I don't know how to say this. I've been rolling around euphemisms, waiting for one that left the right taste in my mouth:
"You are perfect just the way you are."
"There is someone out there fore everyone. (And everything.)"
"I'm just not ready to love you the way you deserve to be loved."
"Really, it's not you, it's me."
But no matter what I came up with, no matter how diplomatic it seemed, I keep coming back to one thing. One burning thought, evaporating all others:
I. HATE. Wikis.
There, I said it. (I kinda feel better, actually.) "But how," you ask, "can a librarian hate one of the best collaboration tools every known to man?"
I have a list.
1. Design.
Ok, so I'm biased. I'm a trained artist whose undergraduate focus was Communications Design. Sitting in 6-hour long classes discussing color and line has a way of changing a person's outlook on life. Good, in my perverted mind, is only as good as the package it's presented in. The busy, power-to-the people aesthetic of most wikis I've seen leaves much to be desired.
2. Organization.
So, this is kind of relates to the above, but I think that compiled information should be easily accessed. Navigation should be simple. Extraneous words? Eliminated. SO not a wiki's strength.
3. Edit-ability.
An information source is only as valid as its creators. Which makes wikis that allow anyone to share information on a topic, questionable at best. But a wiki with a strong monitor? With controls put in place to limit who can contribute what? That, my friends, is what makes this wiki business so dog-on sticky.
Some of the examples I saw when reading about wikis were, I'll admit, a little appealing. Not in their design or organization--I'm not budging on those. But in the way a wiki can be used as a class or group project, with lots of students coming together around a single topic. That's pretty exciting.
So, as much as I hate wikis, I can see how valuable they could be in a classroom setting. I am even considering possibly maybe incorporating their use into an upcoming research project. Pretty open-minded, huh?
What do you think?
Are there technologies or resources that you use because the good (slightly) outweighs the bad?
I'd love to hear what you think!
I agree, I agree, I agree – design is such an important aspect of information sharing. It is true that the Wiki is a wonderful way to collaborate, participate, and edit on the fly, but formatting a Wiki is difficult and daunting. As far as entering text, the Wiki is a simple click and add Web 2.0 application, but when one starts to work with graphic images is very user UNFRIENDLY often causing text throughout the page to move in unwanted directions making a huge mess.
ReplyDeleteI also agree on the navigational front. Wiki navigation is roughshod, confusing, and somewhat intimidating. The thing is Wikis aren’t beautiful – they aren’t the end all and be all of Web 2.0 applications – but they are a way for like-minded folk to collaborate and as you stated, “So, as much as I hate wikis, I can see how valuable they could be in a classroom setting.” So the Wiki lives on. Now if I could only get my local school’s filtering software to unblock them.
I feel like you have peered into my soul (and peeked into my district's filtering policies). Thank you, dear spirit.
DeleteWhat a well spoken way to say how you feel about wikis. I only use wikis for this class. I do not think my ESEP elementary students could handle using this communication tool. I think I would introduce this to middle grade students and up. I do not know all that much about wikis, well, at least not enough to say with way if I like or dislike wikis.
ReplyDelete