Thing 21

I enjoyed Westmont Wiki https://westmontwiki.wikispaces.com/
I particularly like the librarian's use of Glogster to enhance navigation on the home page. It offers a visually appealing way of promoting information literacy. I enjoyed the fact that the act of pointing the cursor to a subject heading leads to that heading being circled. I also appreciated the fact that every page has a table of contents that allows the user to quickly drill down into an area of interest. For example, on the "Parent and Family Resources" page, parents can use the table of contents to explore "safety on the internet" without having to scroll through several dozen links. I also like the fact several teacher wikis are linked on the westmont wiki which promotes collegiality and offers a one stop shop for parents and students. The "Special Needs" resources ensure that all constituencies at Westmont are well served. Finally, I applaud Ms Houle for updating links on a regular basis. I noticed that the "News and Media Resources" links had been updated well into the end of the school year (May 2009). Keeping a wiki current has to be the greatest challenge of all. In order to remove this hurdle, I would seek out colleagues to help me edit and update a school library wiki. This summer I used wikispaces to create a wiki to support summer reading. It would have been far more effective and comprehensive if I had created a space for other teachers to share their insights about the required reading. This of course would require relinquishing some control over "my space" but I believe that it would benefit our students and create an interactive and conversant community of devoted readers.