Final Proposal....Wiki

Final Proposal

Development of Class Research Guides using Wikis

My final proposal will utilize wikis in the development of class research guides. A wiki is a website that multiple users develop together. No web design or HTML skills are needed. Successful wikis are collaborative projects that depend on user interaction.

Both students and college instructors will benefit from the use of wikis in class research guides. Relevance is the key in any successful project involving students. Students are interested in and use resources that will help them succeed in a given class. Class research guides target specific classes and class-related sources. When a wiki is used as the platform for one of these guides, the students not only have relevant sources for their class but also have the option of adding sources to the guide that they find helpful. Instead of spoon-feeding information to students, students have a say in the development of the guide. It’s a collaborative project that is tied into the students’ success.

Instructors benefit from the wiki research guide because they, too, can add resources to the wiki. The librarian and instructor can more easily work together in building these resources. Overall, instructors will see their students reap the benefits of such a project.

There are examples of libraries that have successfully used wikis in subject-related guides. Ohio State University Libraries’ Biz Wiki created by Chad Boeninger is an excellent example. He uses MediaWiki to offer students a wide variety of business resources. He adds his picture and IM capabilities as a nice touch. St. Joseph County Public Library subject guides also use MediaWiki to host guides to a variety of subjects. There is a helpful ‘tips’ link that defines to users a wiki, a subject guide, and how to comment using the wiki. In the article, Using Wikis to Create Online Communities, Meredith Farkas proposes that, a “wiki is a great format for a subject guide. Because it can be edited by anyone, patrons can add to the collection of useful resources and can prune away the dead links” (WebJunction, 2005). The aspect of collaborative maintenance assists the librarian in keeping the information in the guide fresh and current. There is really nothing to lose by experimenting with the wiki technology. Librarians are finding that traditional subject guides, those built by one person with HTML knowledge, are not being used by students. In Chad Boeninger’s Library Voice blog posting, A Wiki as Research Guide, he discusses this problem, “While I can measure through web stats that the guides are being clicked on, I honestly cannot believe that students or patrons are reading the information all the way through. I can attest that they are not the most interesting things to read. And, while they are organized in an outline fashion, they are not the easiest things to use either” (Library Voice, 2005). With wikis users will find a searchable format, a chance to lend their ideas to a project, and overall a format that is flexible and friendly.

The only roadblock in implementing this software is that of overcoming institutional culture. While some instructors will be open to experiment with wikis either with their students or in brainstorming with the librarian, using the wikis will require on their part some time, effort, and desire to experiment with technological tools. I will need to present this idea both at department meetings and to instructors on an individual basis to illustrate the benefits of wikis and the ease with which the technology can be used.

There are many different wikis available from which to choose. Some of these wikis can be hosted on a local server, like MediaWiki, while others are remotely hosted, such as PBWiki. While MediaWiki has been used successfully for the development of subject guides at some libraries, I find the interface a bit complex for the users of my library. PBWiki, on the other hand, appears to be a friendly and appropriate interface for the library users at my community college. So, I will use PBWiki to develop the first research guides, allowing the option to change to a different wiki in the future.

I will maintain the wikis by checking for currency, checking comments and/or resources added by users, and implementing RSS feeds in the future to guarantee up-to-date information. Since a wiki depends upon collaborative efforts, the users can potentially keep the information current by deleting dead links and adding current ones. The library director and I will work through any library policy issues as the guides are being developed.