Presented at NACADA Region 1 Conference Foxwoods, CT March 23, 2012 PJ Dickson, Laurie Nelson, Brian Koslowski, Katie McFaddin Brandeis University

1. The Dustless
Training Manual
Using Wikis to Get Everyone on
the Same Page
PJ Dickson
Brian Koslowski
Katie McFaddin
Laurie Nelson
Brandeis University
© druclimb, Flickr Creative Commons

2. Today we will cover…
- the advantages and
disadvantages of utilizing a
wiki for paperless training
- what resources/skills are
required to get started
- how to launch, build, and
control access to a wiki
© druclimb, Flickr Creative Commons

3. Who Are We?
• Our Team
• Our Department
• Our Situation
• Fast and significant turnover
• Our Needs
• Training for new advisors
• Reference manual for current advisors
© phillacombe, Flickr Creative Commons

4. “Will I Get a Training Manual?”
• Institutional memory
• Documentation of policies
• “Omega”: The Server
• Mystery notes, e.g. “Schedule meeting with committee
members”
• Frequent changes
© phillacombe, Flickr Creative Commons

5. What Happens After Training?
• Internal policies
• Depth of Information
• Things outside the norm
• Responsibilities that only one team member has
• Time savers
• Email templates
• Project Management
© phillacombe, Flickr Creative Commons

6. Why Did We Choose a Wiki?
X
Paper X
Google Site Wiki
-Immediately dated -Available online -Available online
-Not eco-friendly -Google Campus -Free
-Not easy to link to -Can control access -Can control access
resources -Difficult to organize -Content is searchable
-Typically one person’s -Not able to hyperlink -Designed for group
project files without disrupting input
-Hard to find info text -Dynamic

7. Edit Write  Save

8. Starting our wiki required…
- $0
- Minimal computer skills
- 1 hour delegation meeting
- 5-10 hours of individual work
building and populating the pages

10. Instructions for each
type of committee
petition, with links
to helpful
documents & forms

11. Operations calendar,
organized by month.
Repeated projects
and tasks for the
office are listed by
week.

12. Email templates for
oft-used emails to
students and
instructors

13. Detailed instructions
for secondary
assignments (peer
tutoring)

14. Wiki is fully search-able.
Can search content of
some pdfs.

15. To edit a page, click
“Edit” in the upper
corner. The page will
open for editing.

16. To create a new page,
click “New Page”

17. 1. To link to a file, click “File”
2. Click “Upload Files”, select file,
and choose “Link to File”

18. Benefits
Collaborative
Centralized
Environmentally friendly
Easy to update
Holistic
Independent of a server
Communal constructivism
(Virtual) Community of practice
© Orin, Flickr Creative Commons

19. Limitations
Some people prefer paper
Limited formatting
Requires universal involvement
Requires frequent updating
Internet-dependent
Security--we don’t post student data
© karmark, Flickr Creative Commons

20. Next Steps
Systematize updating
Expand user pool?
Integrate into a training
calendar
Consider multimedia
© isdky, Flickr Creative Commons

21. Public Wiki
nacadaregional.wikispaces.com
Username: NACADA1
Password: nacada1

23. Questions?
© isdky, Flickr Creative Commons