About

This wiki is a group project for four library science graduate students from [|IUPUI-SLIS]. The graduate students are taking a class via the Internet called [|High Tech Learning]. The group's instructor is [|Annette Lamb]. If you would like to learn more about this class, please visit Dr. Lamb's website at [|eduScapes.com].

The group, team 3, used the OnCourse Forum discussion area to arrange a meeting time and to discuss the virtual conference tool that they would use to communicate. Through discussion of the pros and cons of such tools as OnCouse Chat, [|Yahoo Messenger], [|AOL Instant Messenger], and [|Skype], team 3 decided to hold a virtual conference via the OnCourse Chat tool. OnCourse Chat was easily accessible to all group members and required no additional downloads, passwords, account membership, and/or set-up. The meeting was set for Wednesday, October 10th at 9:30pm. An email was sent out to all class participants to let them know that team 3 would be reserving OnCourse Chat.

Once the team members were present, the group began it's discussion. Group members suggested several topics including the Rivare Indian Reservation and it's relevance to Bobo, IN, the Willmont in Pierceton, IN, squished pennies ([|elongated coins]), the famous Wolf & Dessauer Christmas lights, festivals in NE Indiana, exploring the five forts in the Fort Wayne area, and Indian heritage.

The group first discussed the Rivare Indian Reservation and how residents in Rivare aquired land from the reservation. One team member elaborated that Rivare has since come to be known as Bobo because of a doctor that lived there and that Bobo was famous for the many [|hobos] that stopped there in their travels on the railroad. It was said that all hobos could always get a meal in Bobo, IN. The group talked about the many tie-ins for this topic including indian heritage and hobos; but questioned the amount of information available on the topic.

The group discussed the squished pennies idea. How they were made, where could they be found, how they started etc and quickly dismissed the topic. The next topic was NE Indiana. One group member suggested that we could break up the topic by season which then led the discussion to the idea of Christmas in Fort Wayne. This topic is especially relevant as all group members currently reside in or close to [|Fort Wayne, IN]. The discussion than turned to the Christmas lights that can be seen in downtown Fort Wayne. Every year, hundreds of people flock to downtown to see a very large and colorfully lit [|Santa] and his [|reindeer]; as well as a extremely large lit wreath. The group discussed that this could be a great topic because the history of the lights could be discussed as well as the current lighting ceremony. One group member brought up that they were started by the Wolf & Dessauer Department Store and that Fort Wayne was known for this extremely large department store that was well ahead of its time. After much discussion about the lights, the group enthusiastically decided that this would be the topic for their wiki.

Several aspects of the department store and the Christmas lights were discussed along with the fact that [|Fort Wayne] has many Christmas festivities that bring people outside the city to the area. The group decided that they would like to approach the topic from a historical perspective and then move into the modern day festivities in Fort Wayne. The group discussed whether or not they could each do 3 pages of a wiki on this topic. It was suggested that someone take the historical perspective of the store and lights, the modern perspective on the lights, and the technical aspect of the lights. It was then suggested that the other Christmas festivals in Fort Wayne be represented as well including the Festival of Trees, the Gingerbread Festival, and the display at the Botanical Conservatory.

One group member Googled and Wikipediaed the topics of Wolf & Dessauer and the Fort Wayne Christmas lights and nothing of major significance came up. Wolf & Dessauer was mentioned in several articles regarding Fort Wayne; however, no wiki was set up specifically about the Christmas lights, the store, or the displays created by the famous department store. It was then decided upon that this would be a wonderful topic for a wiki because of the fond memories that the group had and the significance of the store and it's lights in the community of [|Fort Wayne], IN. The group also felt that it would provide people, past and present residents and neighbors to the community, with the outlet to share their personal experiences and memories of a well-loved, respected, and time-honored tradition and department store in the community.

The group volunteered to take the different topics of history, present day, technology, and other festivals.

History - Michelle Present day - Jill Technology - Sarah Festivals - Theresa

The group also discussed that incorporating pictures, recorded memories, surveys, and written memories would be great additions to the project. The group decided to work individually for a few days and that they would reconvene on OnCourse Chat to discuss problems, progress, and any other issues on the following Monday.

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