Feb+08+Workshop

=**TL’s LearningLibrary Workshop - February 2008**=

[|Planning]
 * Our Planning Document created in Google Docs**
 * This is what we will be doing today:**
 * Introduction of wikis and pathfinders
 * Brainstorming of new topics for pathfinders, posting, sorting, finding similar ones, renaming and forming topic groups/partners (will need cards - markers – sticky tack – name on card)
 * Move into groups (partners)
 * View wiki tutorial video and pathfinder powerpoints as needed
 * Begin creation of new pages according to topics suggested
 * Open the Pathfinder Template
 * Copy the template contents
 * Click on New Page (top of left hand column)
 * Type in a Title that will appear at the top of the page and click the button to create
 * Save
 * Click on the edit page button and begin to add content
 * Add active links by highlighting the words you want to link and clicking the link (chain) button on the toolbar. If the link is outside the wikispace, click "external" and paste in the URL.
 * Save
 * Edit the navigation bar by clicking on the "edit navigation" link at the bottom on the left hand column. Add the title of your page alphabetically in the list. Highlight it and click on the "link" button in the toolbar. The link is within wikispaces and usually has the name of the page put in automatically for you. Click "ok".


 * Technology Tips to Share:**
 * Need to use Firefox as the web browser. We found last time that there were issues with Safari and Wikispaces.
 * The floating toolbar may not be visible automatically. If it's not floating, click on the button to make it so.
 * Having multiple windows open on the browser - one for the Learning Library page and one or more for searching
 * If the navigation page is edited at the same time by multiple people, it won’t work. It needs to be done one group at a time.


 * Other Guidelines:**
 * Validate your own sites. In topic groups, look at each site and decide what to keep and how to organize.
 * Think about an annotation to describe the type of content found in each resource or site. It could be the word "interactive", "multimedia"...
 * Consider that the audience is both children and teachers. Some pages have a separate teacher space.
 * It might be important for the students at your school to have a simpler look to the page. Build it to suit the students you are working with. For example: we might need to build a page on space for Grade 3 and a different one for Grade 6 students.
 * Check sites for readability levels by pasting selections into Word and using the Flesch-Kincaid scale to calculate the level - keeping in mind that this is a ball-park level that counts words, syllables and sentences and doesn't consider context and background knowledge.


 * Support Sites**
 * **Pathfinder resources:**
 * [|Joyce Valenza's Template for Creating Pathfinders] - Here is a template of categories that Valenza and students use as they create pathfinders. She lists other links that are helpful when learning how to create a pathfinder.
 * [|Valenza Powerpoint about Pathfinders] - The link for this is at the top of the page. She outlines reasons why tl's and teachers should create pathfinders for students and why students should also create pathfinders.
 * [|Wenatchee School District's Pathfinder for Constructing Pathfinders: Resource Guides for Class Assignments] - This includes books, articles and websites that are helpful when learning how to construct pathfinders. It also includes a link to a powerpoint about pathfinders and why we need to create them for students.
 * Joyce Valenza's blog post "[|Ten Reasons why your next pathfinder should be a wiki]"
 * **Wiki Resources:**
 * Video - [|Wiki's as Collaborative Tools] - demonstrating the experience of using wikis at Sparta High School, the interaction that can occur between teacher and students and between students and the how wikis create authentic learning.
 * [|Tutorial] video - This is the tutorial that wikispaces has created to help individuals learn how to use the wiki
 * [|How I use wikis. What do you do?] Vicki Davis comments in her blog about the various ways she uses wikis with her classes (2006)
 * Video "[|What are Wikis]?"