Sunday, March 9, 2008
Teaching for student learning 2.0
My inspiration for this post is based on the work of Judy O'Connell. Visit her blog, it's been highly awarded at: http://heyjude.wordpress.com/student-tools-let-them-fly/
As a result of my learning 2.0 journey, I make the following pathways for teachers aiming for learning 2.0 classrooms.
Set up an igoogle page
This will provide your learning 2.0 platform. http://www.google.com.au/ig?hl=en
Use google tools - they just keep on coming!
http://docs.google.com/ - Google Docs & Spreadsheets - Create, store and share documents and spreadsheets on the web. This function is BLOCKED by DET. Maybe, it's time for us to register concern?
Book mark and share resources at:
http://del.icio.us/ - research with the world.
Create and share ppt slideshows
http://www.slideshare.net - upload, tag and share presentations with the world. Create groups and make comments.
Create a wiki
Wikispaces Wiki - Sign-up for an advertisement free wiki for education. Post references, content, assignments, manage group projects and much more.
Consider also: Wetpaint Wiki
Set up a blog
Why not set up a blog at http: www.blogger.com. This is another google product, improving all the time!
Consider also: http://edublogs.org/ or here http://www.wordpress.com
Share photos
http://www.flickr.com - free image hosting site, where you can share and embed your images into your blogs and wikis. Yahoo owns this provider. Look at FlickrCC - for Creative Commons images. Consider also:
http://picasa.google.com/ and
http://www.photobucket.com
Want more, then follow the link to heyjude's blog and read about:
http://voicethread.com/#home
http://www.zoho.com - open source software
http://www.vodpod.com
http://creativecommons.org - Support the OER movement.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Not MIA, just busy on other web 2.0 projects.
Firstly, I have been refining my wiki and slideshare spaces. Both are now as well ordered and accessible as any beta tool can be. I have four groups now on slideshare to accommodate my finds.
Explore my Slideshare groups (4) at: http://www.slideshare.net/etalbert and
http://www.slideshare.net/etalbert/groups
http://www.slideshare.net/group/web-20-tools-for-effective-teaching
http://www.slideshare.net/group/mlearning-effective-practice
http://www.slideshare.net/group/lessons4learning20
http://www.slideshare.net/group/web-30-concepts
The last one is the latest one and I may change the name to better suit eventually.
My del.icio.us collection is becoming more and more a resource for my search terms. Have a look see at: http://del.icio.us/etalbert
Many of my finds come from free email newsletters and elerts, google reader, RSSMicro search engine, Slideshare and associated groups.
In the next mail, I'll write an update on talbertstechtalk wiki I am very happy with the way it is developing.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Learning 2.0 Presentation for SPC Technology Reference Group Monday 19 November 2007
Everything 2.0 - what does it actually mean for education?
In the 90s came the internet and www...
We had the letter "e" invading our comfortable world of chalk and talk. What use to education was all this email and elearning?
This was rapidly followed by an explosion of interest in the letter "i". Has the busy iworld of tunes and phones disturbed our thinking?
In and around these developments, we have had the letter "m" creeping in none to quietly.
Few of us don't have mobiles. But have we looked closely at the potential of mlearning to change our teaching and learning practice?
The latest move has seen us append 2.0 onto almost any term we like. It has the sense of something new, interactive and about you and me. There is a whole new vocabulary to learn.
Web 2.0 social networking and learning applications.
What applications do we mean?
What use are they to teacher and student learning?
What potential might they have to improve achievement?
Web 2.0 definition at wikipedia of course.
MY web 2.0 social learning journey. It's all about joining, using, connecting, networking,sharing and collaborating
Step 1
google is increasingly far more than a search engine. google applications are being born it seems, on a weekly basis. We all know now about google earth or do we?
But have we embraced the personalisation of our learning offered by igoogle ?
google docs for word processing, presentations and spreadsheets all with thepotential to share and collaborate. Here is a great link to show how google docs can be used by teachers
http://www.infinitethinking.org/2007/10/over-past-few-weeks-some-powerful-new.html
I set up my del.icio.us account, one of the best known social bookmarking sites. I began posting those URLs that linked to the latest research, articles, blogs, wikis on my search terms.
I am searching these terms with minor variations: web 2.0 learning, social software and social networking
I have explored the unique features of other social booking sites including digg, diigoand others. One is enough.
Step 3
I set up my blog with blogspot. It is now a google blog. I have also subscribed to several educator blogs. These
http://talbertstechtalk.blogspot.com/
Step 4
I set up my wiki though wikispaces and was able to get the K12 educator's version to remove the advertisments. I have also subscribed to several educator wikis that keep me right up to date with current practice and events. There are many wiki creation sites and the scene is becoming rapidly more competitive. I use my wiki as a clearing house for ideas, resource links and much more. Wikis epitomise the beta world of web 2.0!
http://talbertstechtalk.wikispaces.com/
How can wikis be used in the classroom?
Group projects: students work together in one place to research, outline, draft and edit projects within the wiki.
Assignments: Post homework, course materials, study guides, and more.
Step 5
I set up my slideshare account. A brilliant tool that allows the formation of groups, favouriting, contact lists, and access to slideshow uplaods from global sources. I have set up three groups to collect the lastest from experts and amateurs (U&I) one for web 2.0 presentations, one for shows related to mlearning and one to capture lesson ides from across the world as exemplars. I also favourite shows I like on nature and personal development.
http://www.slideshare.net/etalbert
Step 6
I created a ning network. I have also subscribed to several educator ning networks. The collaboration, sharing and learning opportunities are unbelievable! I have subscribed to those of educators across the world that are very active, with increasingly active communities.
Educators have achieved benefits for education use - special offers advertisement free for K12 student use
http://www.stevehargadon.com/2007/11/big-news-from-ning-ad-free-student.html
Step 7
I have also dipped into about 15 other applications. I have listed them for reference and occasional access in my wiki. The best of the rest:vodpod, voicethreads,teacher tube.
Step 8 - Check these out at your leisure.
I have just by maintaining the the sites to Step 5, also joined a number of blogs and wikis that are managed by well-known educational technology opinion leaders. I have also created a "blogroll" of these people on my wiki.
http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/
Learing 2.0 blog - 23 Things challenge
http://aquaculturepda.wikispaces.com/
http://aquaculturepda.wikispaces.com/mlearn
Conference update
A message on one of my google groups "teach and learn online" alerted me to some work by local wiki workers.
http://ucspace.canberra.edu.au/display/learnweb2/Welcome;jsessionid=514823B554D03E9E2CC303AC5C2F2FF0
7 Steps to a flat classroom
http://coolcatteacher.wikispaces.com/Seven+Steps+to+a+Flat+Classroom
So what is networked learning?
http://melanie1987.wordpress.com/2007/10/31/essay-word-count-1501/
Follow my journey using my wiki links.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Reflections on Practice. Where to now? Why?
On 24 September, I listed some questions posed by Mark Pesce about literacy and learning 2.0. It is urgent that educators begin serious conversations around these questions. It is vital that teachers engage with the transformations already in progress that will effect learning and teaching in schools over the nest year(s).
I continue to be absolutely entranced by the ever-growing avalanche of information available to teachers, everyone really. The creation of google personalised learning environments are a must to enable easy understanding of the potential administratiave and professional applications for education.
The outline of "The story so far ..." on 20 September 2007, gives me a timely reminder of how far I have come, what I have learnt, what I still need to learn and many other still to be discovered and answered questions. I have achieved what I set out to do in parts 2 to 6 and more. I have reflected on the value of each tool to learning, how sustainable these and many others are to use and keep using and made some decisions about which tools are potentially the most useful.
I have come across the work of Steve Hargadon and many other web 2.0 education gurus again and again through online conferences, in blogs, wikis on slideshare and many other web 2.0 locales. It is amazing how small cyberspace really is for educators learning through action. Steve's ten questions are the basis of an ideal set to start any conversation about web 2.0 applications to education.
Every day, I use slideshare, del.icio.us, my wiki and igoogle docs and reader. I have learnt how to integrate these quite well and they have become integral to my learning. Less frequently now, I use this blog, vodpod, ning and as for the others I will probably have to abandon them. There is so much overlap with the tools even with some unique features, there is just not enough time!
I plan to focus more on integrating my blog use with the other four tools to ensure that this fits into my daily learning routine.
I also need to insert more hyperlinks to show what I am doing with these most functional tools.
I am keen to further explore the use of widgets and the voicethread application.
Next time ...!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Reflections and New Directions
Over the coming weeks, I'll focus more on classroom teaching tools and strategies for each of the applications I have explored.
I am looking forward to reading Alan Levine's material from his coming Australian tour.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Mark Pesce at web directions conference
Literacy and learning 2.0 need our full attention.
What do we know about web 2.0 learning?
What should we know?
How can we play "catch up" if we need to?
Who can contribute to our web 2.0 learning curve?
Follow some of my del.icio.us and slideshare links to get some insights into the many opportunities!
