If you build it, they will collaborate.... or maybe they won't?

*This blog entry is in response to chapter 5, "How?- Making It Work in Your Organization", from the book Wikis for School Leaders by Stephanie D. Sandifer

Building a wiki is just the first part of integrating it's use in your classroom.  You have to actually teach people how to use it and have an effective way of teaching people about it.  In terms of getting people to use the wiki that you have created and embrace the technology presented to them can be a daunting task because you have a wide variety of technological backgrounds and it is hard to make sure that they all can understand and embrace it.  This chapter had a list of do and don'ts for organizing your wiki and I found a lot of the things mentioned very helpful.  They mentioned how important it is to allow access to the wiki outside of school or district intranet, i.e. make it so people can use it even when they're not at school.  They also suggested allowing small groups of people to create their own wiki so they can play around with it and become more comfortable on using wikis and in turn help teach others about how useful they can be.  Be sure that when people have successes in using wikis or learning about wikis that you reward them in some way or highlight their extra effort, don't let participation or learning go unnoticed.  Let the people who you are trying to get to use the wiki work together and give feedback on things that they like or that could be improved.  Also be willing to go the extra mile and really teach those users who may be digital immigrants about all the things they need to know to help them be a better wiki user.  You also need to be sure that you don't take the experience of some users for granted.  Don't abuse your resources and also don't expect that just because your users may be tech savvy on some subjects that they will grasp this new technology.  Be patient with your users and be sure that the guidelines you set for this wiki are not too restrictive the people using the wiki need to be able to use it effectively and not have a million restrictions holding them back.
I think the biggest thing that I learned in this chapter is that to make a wiki be an effective tool you need to have a clear, well-defined vision before you present to the people you want to use it.  If you don't have a clear vision they can't have one either.  Also you need to be sure that you have workshops or step-by-step instructions available to give out to those people who may not be as technologically savvy but are willing to try.  Make it as easy as possible for people to learn and become involved in the use of wiki as possible, the easier it is the more people will be willing to give it a try.