1. Get Your Head in the Cloud
How Wikis in the Classroom Facilitate Group Work and Prepare Students for an Increasingly Online, Increasingly Collaborative World

2. Introductions Amanda Mills Elissah Becknell David Peterson
Minneapolis Community & Technical College Library
Instructors and Librarians
Amanda Mills
Elissah Becknell
David Peterson
INFS 1000: Information Literacy & Research Skills
Face to Face, Online, and Blended Course
Introduces students to academic research
Utilizes a Wiki to facilitate Group Work through 5 Assignments

3. Cloud Computing Defined
“The storing and accessing of applications and computer data often through a Web browser rather than running installed software on your personal computer or office server”
Great for Collaboration
Work with anyone, anywhere, anytime
Only need 2 things
Internet Connection
Computer skills

4. Wikis Defined Wikis in Plain English:
“a website whose users can add, modify, or delete its content via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a rich-text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often created collaboratively by multiple users”
Wikis in Plain English:
Fun tutorial from Common Craft

5. Why We Use Wikis in the Classroom
INFS 1000: Information Literacy & Research Skills
Requires 5 Group Assignments
Challenges:
Multiple students must work together
They must hand in one Word document with all their work
Most groups can’t finish the assignment in one class period
All the work is online
2 Solutions:
Ye olde Word document
PBWorks wiki

6. Why We Use Wikis in the Classroom
Ye Olde Word Document
PBWorks Wiki
Requires everyone to have:
Internet access
Computer/laptop/tablet
Microsoft Word or equivalent
Requires one Word document to circulate ( , courseware, google doc, ????)
Requires someone to compile all the work before handing the document in
Requires everyone to have
Allows everyone to work on one “document” or webpage
Requires no compiling, simply hand in a PDF of the final product before the due date

7. Why We Use Wikis in the Classroom
Instructors can support group work better in a wiki because we can:
Monitor progress
procrastinating students (who often don’t get it)
online sections
Trouble shoot technical problems with students
Over the phone, , chat, and in person
See “who did what when….”
instead of assuming or relying on students to report problems
See the process and not just the product at the end
Process= social responsibility
Assess process and product in one place

8. Digital Literacy
“The ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share and create content using information technologies and the Internet” 1
As more and more jobs and educational offerings are available online, the ability to navigate the Internet is critical to participate more fully in the economy2
Internet related jobs contribute $300 billion to U.S. GDP
Educational/Academic
Increasingly online…
Jobs/Economy
62% of Americans use the internet as a core part of their job3
1http://digitalliteracy.cornell.edu/
2http://
3http://

9. Wiki Demonstration General Overview of the INFS1000 Wiki
PBWorks Feature Demonstration: Campus Edition
Feature Demonstration
Collaboration
Communication
Digital Literacy & Skills Building

10. How Could You Use a Wiki? How Would You Like to Use Wikis?
What ideas do you have?
How Are You Using Wikis Already?
Could/would you modify this in any way?

11. How Could You Use a Wiki? Some ideas: With Liaison Departments
Advise instructors in liaison departments to use wikis for coursework with teams
One collaborative online workspace (that is designed/controlled by instructor) rather than compiling multiple documents
Instructors can Monitor student progress before assignments are completed
Especially helpful in online courses
Assessment of Process & Product
Again- especially helpful in online courses
Drafts of papers/projects over time
Can see Change and Development over time and in one place
Can give Feedback over time in one place

12. But How Could YOU Use a Wiki?
Some ideas:
For Library Instruction
Librarians embedded in courses
Librarians can be embedded in course wikis for courses with research projects
Can help instructors monitor student progress and class research needs
Can provide point-of-need research help AND intervention
Can reach online students
Reach them easily/efficiently within their courses
Better assessment of information literacy/research skills
Assessment of Process & Product
Instruction and feedback over time
Can work with students with various skill-levels, one-on-on , as needed, over time.
Stand-alone instruction
Online Workspace
Provide instruction and workspace online or use with face-to-face instruction
Direct assessment of information literacy/research skills
Based on student work rather than student feedback

13. Other Ways you Could Use a Wiki
Some ideas:
Outside the Classroom
Agendas, Minutes, and other important Meeting Information
Shared documents
Shared editing
Collaborative projects
Great for Organizing, Coordinating and Completing work done primarily online
Keeps everything in one place
Work across Multiple Institutions
Facilitates Long Distance collaboration
Other Examples:
Recommended Reading wiki
Grant Proposal/Development wiki

14. Some Additional Considerations
Privacy
Make sure you know who can see and edit the wiki!
Permissions / Wiki Settings
Having the right Edition for your needs
Cost
Additional functionality and capabilities often cost money
Time for Development
The INFS1000 wiki was developed over the course of a semester with the incentive & support of a Spring 2011 Teaching Circle
Continued development and cloning over Summer 2011
Ready for Primetime Fall 2011
Needed revisions for Winter 2012
Your wiki may require a lot of time spent in development
Is it worth the effort for you?
Is it worth the effort for your department/group/collaborators?
Can you share the work?

15. Additional Resources
“Wikis in Plain English” Common Craft Show 29 May Common Craft. 3 June < plain-english>.
MCTC Library. "PBworks Overview " Vimeo, Video Sharing For You. 5 Jan Web. 17 Jan <

16. Questions? THANK YOU  Amanda Mills Elissah Becknell David Peterson
Elissah Becknell
David Peterson