Web 2.0 in Education
From Js
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RSS, Wiki, CMS, Manhattan, Blackboard, Blog ... what is one to do?
Probably not all of them; maybe one or two, but whatever you do keep this question in mind: Is this making my life easier? Technology is supposed to make your life easier, if it is making it harder then you are probably using the wrong tool.
To Blog or not to Blog?
Web 2.0 - Read/Write Web
Now there are tools to make publishing to the web extremely easy. That is good and bad. It is great if you just want a place to publicly air your thoughts, but for education it means that probably for every good piece of information available there are 10 or 100 bad pieces. How do we find the good ones?
An important note for students is that with web 2.0 the web is READ and write; they have the write part, but we (educators) still are tasked with getting them to "read good". Valuable information is no good unless you actually read it!
Levels of Access
The internet can be scary. We as teachers can make careful choices of what level of publicity our classes have. For a class collaboration you might choose the LHS Wiki to limit access to our school community. For art work you might choose someting more public, like pbwiki. Likewise with blogs; or you can choose from completely closed systems like Manhattan Virtual Classroom.
Google Accounts
With a Google account one login can get you far. You can log into email, blogspot, Google Docs, Calendars and more with one login.
Gmail
- Gmail - nice email that just works.
Google Reader
- Google Reader - Google reader is a nice way to collect your RSS feeds in one place.
Google Docs
- Google Documents - create and/or share documents from any internet connection.
Google Calendar
- Google Calendar - manage due dates, personal reminders, lots of stuff.
Sign Up Already
- Google - Create an account.
RSS Realy Simple Syndication
RSS - brings the content to you. Just like you can subscribe to a newspaper or magazine you can subscribe to RSS feeds that could be your newspaper.
- Google Reader - I use Google Reader; this way I can get my subcriptions from home, work, or anywhere with internet.
Subscribe to a Feed
js bloggified - just click the link and paste the URL into your feed reader.
Wiki's
A Wiki is a collaborative space where users can all edit the same document(s). The most famous example is wikipedia. We have a school wiki LHS Wiki which can only be used from within the school. There are thousands of other Wiki's on the internet.
A nice video demonstrating wiki usage: Wikis in Plain English
You can also sign up for a free wiki at pbwiki ; which provides free wikis to educators, you can set this wiki to be only editable by logged in users, i.e. your class.
Teacher Facing
Teacher facing uses of technology are when you collaborate with your colleagues on shared resources like tests, worksheets, rubrics, etc.
Make a Worksheet
Create an online wiki worksheet. This could be a set of open response questions, a quiz/test, or just an idea that colleagues can share and collaborate on.
Share it with a colleague
Email a colleague the URL of your worksheet and solicate advice and/or content additions to your worksheet.
Student Facing
Once you have content created you can share it with students in a number of ways.
- You could print it out and give it to the students to complete.
- You could have the students go to the wiki and edit/add to the assignment.
- You could have the sudents answer the questions under the discussion tab as an extension of your classroom discussion.
- Find a video post it to your wiki and have students address it on the wiki.
Project Rubric/Outline
I usually introduce a project. Then I make the students develop a schematic, rubric, or specification. Then I of course tell them that theirs is no good and to fix it. Once we are all satisfied teacher and student, we then set about accomplishing our goals.
Create a Project
Depending on the complexity of the project you can get several asignments out of it. For my computer science classes each function becomes an assignment.
Blogs
In a blog you can easily post entries to the internet. This could be weather updates, music scores, just about anything you can think of; Their are many free options available:
- blogger - sign in with your google account.
- wordpress - wordpress is a free blogging engine if you are inclined to set up your own server.
Homework
For example if you do something as simple as post your homework assignments to your blog, students could subscribe via RSS and get their homework on any or computer or even their cell phone!
CMS - Content Management Systems
Content Management Systems allow you to create web pages, assignments, blogs, and much more. Specific software tools to help us do this are spoken about below. Each has pros and cons, and a proper choice usually depends upon your end game and compromise of features.
Manhattan
The Manhattan Virtual Classroom is already configured for LHS, so this is probably a good choice if you are considering a CMS.
Other CMS's
Podcasting
Podcasting simply put is internet radio. Combined with RSS, wikis, or blogs; podcasting can be a powerful way for you and your students to interact and create digital content.
Audio: mp3, ogg
Audacity - is a free audio recording and editing program. You can use it to record, import, export, and edit audio podcasts like lectures or class projects.
Skype - is a web phone technology you can use to call other computers for free :>). You can also record the call for posting in a podcast or whatever else you can think of. Imagine a French class calling an English class in France!
