Winki-wiki-wiki-Wah! (Thing 12)

At last! I have made my list of a few of my vintage cameras!

Welcome to it: Christine's camera wiki.

If I weren't sitting two floors away from the archive, I would use the wiki to share some of the more prominent collections held in the archive I manage. I could list unique book holdings, files on Flagler College, and photos of Henry Flagler himself.

As a library application, I would love to see the wiki used as a departmental pathfinder. I often get students at the reference desk writing for programs I know little about, like criminology. When I click on the criminology pathfinder, I don't feel comfortable suggesting that route of research to the student because of its lack of content. I would like successful search strategies to be shared in a wiki format, whether provided by library staff or students.

I understand why instructors are wary of online resources because of their questionable validity. However, I often explain to students that information on the web provided by respectable resources like universities can be valid information. A wiki from a reliable source should not be banned as a student resource, but some instruction in the library or classroom must be provided to explain evaluation of reliability of online information.

Just because a technology is new doesn't mean that it faills to provide valuable information. As students become more and more digitally minded, their research strategies need to be taken into account and directed in helpful ways. Banning online information teaches the students nothing. My experience is that students resist instructors who impose digital bans. Work with the students to improve information literacy--don't quash their natural search abilities.