Teaching Teachers

Tomorrow is the first day the teachers will be back on campus. This is where the rubber meets the road. All my plans, hopes, and ideas will either successfully cruise along or crash and burn. I want to set up a time on Tuesday to teach the teachers about RSS feeds and train them to use the wiki to schedule. I have shown several earlybird teachers and have gotten favorable comments from them.

I've been getting more questions about my plan to use a wiki to schedule time in my library. I find it interesting that I keep getting the comment, "You mean someone could just go in and delete someone else out of the library?". Now I have to admit, that thought never occurred to me. I guess in theory that could happen, but then we have always done the paper schedule in pencil, and the option to cross out or erase off the book has been available for years. I think that has happened once in 18 years, and that was a misunderstanding on my part!

On Friday, I spent a part of the afternoon scheduling classes for my Library Orientation. The process seems pretty smooth. You do need to know a time frame, but once you put one in, it gives you an autofill option, so once you get going it goes even quicker. I also like that if you are planning on coming in multiple days in a row you just need to enter once, and it will fill in all the days.

Woo woo wiki week 7 #16, 17

Flash update!
I have now figured out how to create a Wiki. I even have created a link on the Aptos Junior High Library web page. I plan to use the calendar as an interactive library scheduling tool so teachers can sign up for library from their classrooms. I have wanted to do that for quite some time, but all the other ways that I have tried, didn't work. If the district doesn't block PBwiki, and we are in negotiations as we speak, this will work like grease through a goose.

Wicked Wiki's Week 7 #16 &17

Finding out about wiki's is the real reason I wanted to do this class. The whole idea of wiki's intrigues me. How to effectively use such a public devise in a school setting, particularly with junior high students, is an interesting predicament. I noticed that all the wikis that were highlighted were used by adult or high school audiences. I would like to think that eleven to thirteen-year-olds were mature enough to handle a wiki, but since Wikipedia won't allow my school site to edit, too much vandalism, I kind of doubt it.
I would love to create a CYRM wiki, where students could analyze the books. I would love to create a Parent wiki where parents could share ideas. Maybe a teacher Wiki, by department, so teachers could share best practices? I can see lots of applications for this technology, but so far I still have not learned how to create one.

I really loved being introduced to Dave Warlicks blog. New one for my Bloglines account.