4. Web 2 eg
What is Web 2.0? This podcast on the ISTE web site takes you through an explanation of what it is.
Web 2.0 Projects Collated by Terry Freedman this pdf has a large list of on-line collaborative projects that use Web 2 tools.
Will Richardson has a book well worth reading titled ”Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web 
Tools for Classrooms”. A review of that book can be found here.
“The collaborative construction of knowledge by those willing to contribute is redefining the ways we think about teaching and learning at every level.”
eg Go to 43things and create a list of 43 things you want to accomplish or do. Once you have created your list, you are automatically connected to everyone else within the 43 Things universe who wants to learn those same skills or accomplish those same goals.
Example 1: R-12 … Carbon Footprint Project … starts Sept 2008
Web 2 technologies are being used by students to collaborate on international projects.
Join us as we work with classes from around the world to reduce our collective carbon footprint. This year long project will include ongoing science, maths, language, social studies, art and multi-media activities run in collaboration with other classes in Learning Circles.
For more information or to join the project contact: Jim Carleton jim@iearn-canada.org or Mali Buckley mali@iearn-canada.org.
Example 2: Primary+ … Rock Our World … starts Sept 2008
this project as a springboard that will bring many students from around the
world together with a common focus: communication, storytelling, music and movies!
For more information contact Carol Anne McGuire rockourworld@mac.com
Example 3: Secondary English … Years 8-11
Jo McLeay is a secondary English teacher in Melbourne. Her blog discusses a whole range of Web 2 and other ICT tools that she has been using. Students in her Year 8 class have been “looking at Photostory 3, Voicethread,toondoo and making digital videos” – read about it here .
Read Jo’s ‘Blogging with Students’ blogging-with-students194.
Example 4: Secondary … Using Second Life
Manny Alvarez from Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas has written a paper about using the social networking site “Second Life” in secondary education.
The Use of Virtual Worlds in High School Education
Example 5: R-12 … Using VoiceThread …
VoiceThread allows people to use a graphic as a focus for others to comment on.
Comments can be audio, written or doodle. VoiceThread have an education site. To get full functionality for a class you need to go pro at a cost of US$59.95 per year.
For example, add a picture of your city (suburb) and make a comment about what geographical features are unique to it. Add a picture that represents a book title, and have students answer a set question about the book.
Example 6: 1-12 … Google Maps … Google Earth
Use Google maps to create a place pin for where your house is and where school is. Work out the shortest way to get to school or trace the route you take. (Much better if you sign up for a Google account). Lots of other things to do. 50 Things to do with Google Maps Mashups
Google Earth ”allows you to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings and even explore galaxies in the Sky. You can explore rich geographical content, save your toured places and share with others”. Lessons using Google Earth. Here is a video on teaching area and perimeter using Google Earth.
Example 7: R-12 … Google Apps …
This is becoming really big. Google apps is a series of on-line applications that can be used for collaboration. (a) Google Docs – much easier to work collaboratively using this than using email files or files stored on a server, as there is always only ONE copy. (b) Google Maps (c) Google spreadsheet. Aspects from one Google app can be integrated into another Google App.
Google Docs blog for ‘how to’, suggestions and tips. Google in education forum.
Google Sketchup is a 3D software tool that combines a tool-set with an intelligent drawing system. Teacher’s guide here.
Principals and teachers talk about using Google Docs – youtube.
Example 8: Blogs
A blog is a like a personal news page. There are a number of free web sites that host blogs, among them is edublogs. A blog is organised by posts. Each post is a separate piece of news and the blog page show the most recent post at the top. All the posts are archived and available to be read. People who read your blog can leave comments about your post, this can form a discussion about your post. People who have similar interests can link their blogs together to create a community.
“I always encourage teachers to blog simply because it provides another link between school and home and gives students an authentic real world audience for their writing.
In 2006 when I went with our Year 6 and 7 students to Canberra I took my trusty laptop and digital camera and blogged every night by asking a few students to tell me what they thought about one of the things we’d done that day and to pick out a photo to go with it. The parents were delighted and one comment was, “It was so nice to be able to see their little faces each night!” They also e-mailed relatives overseas with the link to our blog so that Grandparents etc could see what the kids were doing.” Teresa McNamara
Some examples of blogs being used with students:
Year 5 blog; Yr 4-5 blog (podcasts);
Some examples of teacher/education blogs:
Lucy Gray’s blog, Sheryl’s 21st Century Learning blog, Tech Learning Journal blog, Andrew Churches blog, Camilla Elliott’s blog, Jo McLeay’s blog, Global Teacher blog (Web 3 Community), Lisa Dumicich’s blog, English at KatiKati College blog (Years 11-12).
Example 9: ThinkQuest and Think.com
Prior to the conference we visited Oracle Headquarters in San Francisco. As well as a delicious breakfast Bernie Trilling (Global Director, Educational Strategy & Partnerships) gave a talk about the Oracle Education Foundation and what it does. Their major aim is to help students develop skills necessary for life and work in the 21st century. This is done mainly through ThinkQuest and Think.com. Bernie’s powerpoint presentation.
Think.com is a global community for learning. Think.com connects schools, teachers, and students from around the world to collaborate on projects, share experiences, and build knowledge together. The Think.com website is a safe environment for students to collaborate and there is no cost.
ThinkQuest inspires students to think, connect, create, and share. Students work in teams to build innovative and educational websites to share with the world. Along the way, they learn research, writing, teamwork, and technology skills and compete for exciting prizes.
Example 10: Social Media Resume (7-12)
Students use a blog page to present their resume. Imbedded are media files (video, audio, other) to enhance their resume. Adult ‘real world’ example here. Obviously you’d need to be careful about including personal information eg no last names, addresses or phone numbers.
Example 11: MicroBlogging
Microblogging is a term used to describe some of the ’smaller’ ways that you can create social networks. Popular examples include: Twitter, Plurk and Jaiku. This ‘flowgram’ presentation created by Kathryn Greenhill will take you through some of the many microblogging web sites.
Example 12: Flowgram
Flowgram is a multimedia way to communicate with others. It is an on-line screencast service and at present is in beta stage, so getting an account is not automatic. Here are a few examples of a flowgram.
6 must rent documentaries take a tour of my neighbourhood
Example 13: Diigo
Diigo is a new way to highlight and share favourite web pages. It is similar to de.licio.us but it allows you to do more. Like de.licio.us you can bookmark your favourite web sites and add tags that help you and others share and find similar sites, but you can also highlight parts of web sites and put them together in a slideshow. This YouTube hosted video explains more. This video also talks about de.licio.us.
