Getting There

Using wikis in collaboration has added a dynamic dimension to working with teachers. I had not really articulated just how they made a difference until I started planning two presentations I am giving in April at the Texas Library Association and the Missouri Assoication of School Librarians. I like the initial stages of planning a workshop or presentation–the brainstorming of topics, selecting the most relevant ones, then putting those into an outline. Unlike most presentations where I use PowerPoint, I decided that this one would be given using a wiki so I set about finding good images. A nice discovery was the new Word Mosaic tool in Image Chef. Not unlike Wordle, it takes your list of words and crafts them into a shape of your choice. However, it does not create the sizes of words based on the frequency. It simply makes a pleasing picture with your words (see above). I chose black and soft white to match the Glogster collage I chose for the opening page.

The purpose of this post is not the Word Mosaic tool, but the topics I chose to include in my presentation, and the subtopics and supporting details of the outline. It turned out to be a how-to on collaboration and the use of wikis as a tool for it, that results in a one-stop shopping experience for students after the direct instruction is over. Instead of listing the topics and details, the link here will take you through the process, along with supporting evidence. What should I add? Where can I get examples? Collaboration wiki