A blog, as defined on Wikipedia, “…is a website usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.” Blogs can be used by educators to build a professional learning network that reaches beyond the schools in his or her district. They provide us with a way to participate in digital conversations…to ask questions and share knowledge with others. School and classroom blogs can also motivate student learning. There is an article by Tech Learning that has a lot of information on blogs in education.
I created this blog while participating in an online class on Web 2.0 tools. I have found this to be a quick and easy way to share information with others and plan to continue to use this tool. As the Instructional Technology Resource Teacher in my school, I had been looking for a better way to share information with the teachers in my school. I see this resource as a way to reach beyond the walls of my school and expand my own personal learning network and plan to continue to utilize it in the future.
The Internet has provided educators with a variety of resources to meet the many learning styles of our students. Classrooms do not have to be static environments where students are passively given information. Now our students can be actively engaged in the learning process and become a part of a larger more global learning society. There are a variety of websites in which students can view webcasts and/or streaming video clips that connect students to real world situations. After viewing these videos, students can participate in discussion forums or email the “experts” connected to these videos. Watching a video is not what it used to be, and it shouldn’t be. There are too many web 2.0 tools available now to keep learning static. (Blogs, Wikis, Writeboard, etc.)
PBS Nova is an example of a website that provides streaming video that is divided into video clips, but they are not downloadable so educators may want to test out their ability to stream the video while in the classroom. It offers some excellent clips and even offers a variety of podcasts as well. I viewed a 4-minute video on Hurricane Katrina. Through a video like this, you are able to see before and after clips of the New Orleans area, and hear the scientist’s voice as he conveys his frustration in what happened. You hear the anger and sadness as he talks about the predictions made that were ignored. Video can be powerful and when partnered with online tools that allow students to write and express their own ideas, understandings, and questions…we develop students who can truly think.
This is a great resource, but only if used correctly. As with anything, it should serve a purpose that should be clear to the students, have follow-up, and be used in a way that engages and motivates our students.
Wikis are great tools that can be used to create quick and easy collaborative websites.There are many benefits to using these tools, but it isn’t without its challenges.They provide educators with a free resource that can be utilized to share and work with each other and to foster communication and collaboration amongst our students.Wikis encourage social interaction and group work but in an asynchronous environment, and they provide our students with an opportunity to share their writing.As with any online tool such as this, student work should be closely monitored.Student safety should always be considered and personal information should not be shared when using a wiki that has been made public.
I would recommend wikis to other educators.I have used this tool to work with other teachers, and with students to promote learning and to increase motivation.I think that the positives outweigh any negatives.I have used both Wikispaces and PB Wiki and although both were user friendly, it is my opinion that Wikispaces may be a better choice for beginners.I have also found customer service with Wikispaces to be much faster and direct.
This is a tool that is definitely worth the time to get to know.
Here is a cute site that I ran across when reading another blog. At this site, set-up by the New York Zoos and Aquariums, you can create a picture of yourself and replace body parts with the parts of animals. When finished, you can end up with a pretty wild picture. Not only do you get your crazy picture, but you also get information about the animals and body parts that you selected. Take a look at the picture below to see one that I created. Your young and not so young students would find this to be a lot of fun, but I think that it would be especially appropriate for 3rd-5th grade students. If you’re completing a unit on animals and animal adaptations, this would be a great activity.
Have you ever bookmarked a great website under your favorites on your computer, just to use a different computer later and no longer have access to your bookmarked sites? Or, you have so many websites saved under your favorites that you can no longer find the site. Many have experienced these same problems at one time or another. This is where social bookmarking sites can be helpful.
You can use a social bookmarking website to save your bookmarked websites which you can then access from any computer that has Internet. You can even “tag” them with keywords to help you keep your “favorite websites” organized and easy to locate. These sites also make it easy to share your bookmarks with others, hence the “social” factor. There are free and easy to use sites that will let you do all of this.
I use a site called del.icio.us, but there are many to choose from. I have found del.icio.us to be very easy to use and would recommend it to others, but I have recently been hearing a lot of good things about a site called diigo that I want to try out. I have created links below to both del.icio.us and diigo, as well as a link to a pdf called “7 Things You Should Know About Social Bookmarking” created by Educause.
Check these out and watch the You Tube video linked below as well. This video is very short, sweet, and to the point. It uses visuals and terminology that are easy to understand.
This seems like a good place to get started. It seems like I am hearing the term “web 2.0″ everywhere, but do you feel like you missed web 1.0. I know when I first heard these buzz words I felt the same way. So let’s start with what this means, and then address why it may be significant for educators.
Web 2.0 actually has many definitions, but I think of it as referring to an internet that is social and interactive. Tools and websites are available online that provide opportunities to read, write, collaborate, interact, and share. These web 2.0 resources are available to everyone and most are very user friendly.
Educators can use these tools to collaborate and share with students, other educators, and parents. We can also use them to introduce our students to a world of learning that goes beyond the walls of the classroom. Students can become writers and share their ideas with the world. In fact, many are already using these tools.
As I jump into the world of blogging, I am excited to get started with something new. I can see that there is a lot of potential with this resource professionally as a way to share ideas and information about educational technology with others. So as the title says…let’s get started!
