WHY I CHOSE A

WIKI FOR MY

BUSINESS A Study for Communication &

Self-Expression in a Digital AgeBy Kendra Muckle

GIGGLES DAYCARE NEEDED A BETTER WAY TO COMMUNICATE BETWEEN STAFF AND FAMILIES

WHEN PARENTS ARE

LEAVING OFTEN THERE

ISN’T TIMEMost children in our program spend more than seventy percent of their awake hours each week with us. When I opened Giggles in 1996 we had three children from two families. We now have 24 children, 15 families, myself and 3 additional staff. More than a short conversation at drop off or pick up isn’t usually possible. The more I learned about social networking in this class I realized that it can help with our problem.

WITH SO MANY CHOICES I HAD TO DECIDE WHICH SOCIAL NETWORK

WOULD BEST FIT OUR NEEDS ?

THE THREE MAIN OPTIONS I LOOKED AT WERE: FACEBOOK, BLOGS AND WIKIS

I eliminated Facebook because I wanted the site to relate to the day care exclusively. I felt if we used Facebook it would become more personal, people would be tempted to post like they do on their own page with each other. We want their input but our site needs to focus on the children.

A COMPARISON OF……..BLOGS (Cons) Mostly news posts or people

media Usually one opinion or a series of

scattered opinions Adds one post at a time Blogger is solely responsible for

maintaining

BLOGS (Pros) Easy to use Less concern regarding content

(because you’re the editor)

WIKIS (Cons) Grows quickly Requires more monitoring

WIKIS (Pros) Can determine who has access

and to what extent Parents can update lists such as:

items needed, if they can chaperone trips and pass it along

Post pictures with some degree of privacy

Parents and staff can collaborate on certain pages such as: So funny I had to share this

Parents and staff can comment or make suggestions

Pages are easy to archive

A WIKI WAS THE BEST CHOICE TO

MEET OUR OBJECTIVES

A wiki is a web page that is easy to edit. You can share pages and create folders similar to Windows. Wikis allow you to upload documents, videos and pictures. They enable you to collaborate with one person or with hundreds globally.

WHY WIKIS WORK WELL FOR BUSINESSES

Wikis provide a good way for businesses to obtain customer feedback

Information collected on a wiki can build a knowledge database

Everyone has a chance to offer comments and suggestions not just a chosen few

Often people who won’t speak at meetings are more likely to comment in this format

Wiki pages are easy to update Wikis are an effective project

management tool

They permit supervisors to track progress on tasks they have assigned

Wikis allow these tasks and reminders to be sent directly to employees email

They provide real-time collaboration Wikis let you see which pages your

customers and staff have accessed Mostly they are good for businesses

because they improve client satisfaction by making users feel as though they have an input

PB WORKS WIKI Founded in 2005 They have over one million workspaces

and host over fifty thousand businesses They offer a basic wiki site which is free

or additional legal, educational and business services for a monthly fee

There is no hardware or software to install

Pages are accessible by any web based system including Macs, Iphones, Netbooks and Blackberrys

GIGGLES WILL USE OUR WIKI PAGES TO:

Develop educational goals for children in our program Communicate upcoming events with families Collaborate with families and eventually with other child

care programs globally Share news and staff information Recycle and reuse objects for projects, clothes, baby

equipment and other items families wish to pass along to someone who can use them

Remind parents of dates we are closed, field trip information, appropriate clothing for our activities, food allergies and our illness policy

share a milestone reached, laugh or just to feel connected

………visit us at gigglesdaycare.pbworks.com