So many Web 2.0 tools are available. Has anyone used one that they find very useful for classroom use? Thanks, Lily
Our teachers in grades 3rd-5th are using Google Docs to post BT formative assessment scores. They use this data to create reteach/enrich groups for math every week. As the instructional coach, I have access to all of their GoogleDocs and I am able to get the data the students who I will be working with in a reteach group the following week. These grade level teams have found Google Docs to be very useful and helpful in posting scores and then creating groups. We hope to have more teams using this tool next year.
Our teachers in grades 3rd-5th are using Google Docs to post BT formative assessment scores. They use this data to create reteach/enrich groups for math every week. As the instructional coach, I have access to all of their GoogleDocs and I am able to get the data the students who I will be working with in a reteach group the following week. These grade level teams have found Google Docs to be very useful and helpful in posting scores and then creating groups. We hope to have more teams using this tool next year.
Lily, you are really making me think. As I read your comment I realized how little I know about Web 2.0 tools. This prompted me to do some research. I discovered that Web 2.0 sites give users an opportunity to interact and collaborate with one another. They let users be creators of the content in a virtual community they have created. Wikipedia has a great 12 page article on Web 2.0 which gave me tons of information. I also found Web 2.0 Magazine that listed the top 100 Web 2.0 sites. In looking over that list I found I actually have participated in the use of Web 2.0 tools. (http://web2magazine.blogspot.com/2007/01/thanks-for-web-2.html) I just didn't have the jargon to go with it. I will be sharing the list with our 5th grade teachers. Thanks for promting this investigation...
I agree wtih you Edna. There are so many resources and tools out there that we may not know anything about. I am anxious to look at the website you provided. Thanks.
Hi Edna, I really wasn't sure what 2.0 was either, but now I do after looking at the website you provided. Thanks! We really need to get email accounts for our 5th graders because they will not be able to do half of those things without an email account.
I agree. It seems like a pretty foundational thing to do. Are there plans for this?
You are absoluely correct. Our fifth graders need email accounts in order to utilize technology effectively.
I have heard of Web 2.0, but didn't have a full understanding. The amount of technology abilties are astounding to me. I thought I was computer literate, but I now know I have a long way to go. I am looking forward to learning how web 2.0 is used within different schools from the variety of school perspectives, being leadership, teacher, and student.
Moodle, by the way, is a Web 2.0 tool
So, would I be right in guessing thta Google Groups is a Web 2.0 tool? If so, i know more than I thought.
Is there a technology term dictionary on line? A place you can go to see, hear, and explain phrases/ terms that are mentioned by others?
Here's a good end-user one:
Moodle is a wonderful tool for both teachers, students, and parents. My daughter is fortunate to use moodle to complete her homework and to also view powerpoints that were created by her teacher. This was especially helpful when she was absent for 3 days. She was still able to keep up with her schoolwork and watch the powerpoints from the math and reading lessons that she missed. It is a wonderful resource for her and I am hopeful that our studentsand teachers will be able to utilize this tool soon in Sunnyside.
Before this endeavor I never heard the word Moodle,,,now I are one! I can see these attributes escalate exponentially as student become familiar with their use. Those that don’t are going to be left in the dark unfortunately.
I think that Moodle is a great tool to have. Just as you stated in your example about students who miss school can catch up on what they missed. Not only that but this is a way for students to review the content that was taught for the day, or parents can review notes with students. It makes learning more accessible for students, and parents can stay informed. I know there are several more features within Moodle that can be very resourcesful for teachers. Schools can also make a "School Staff Moodle" to say informed of committee information and upcoming events,etc.
The options are so many for Web 2.0. I had never used anything in Web 2.0 until Project Red. There is nothing hard about it once you get in the grove. Our teachers could really benefit from this kind of forum for District Wednesdays. Our late start schools could actually be on time for their collaboration while needing less sub coverage becuase they wouldnt have to go anywhere.
I believe that PD360 is as well. Correct me if I'm wrong. By the way LOVE MOODLE! If anyone is not familar with moodle and how to use it in the classroom- find out! It will transform your teaching!
I did not know what Web 2.0 was until reading all these responses. I have heard of googledocs and am supposed to be learning how to use moodle, right Jeanet? but this is all new to me.
I have created a class blog using edublogs.org
It has been a wonderful way for my students to connect to each other and collaborate about the posted topics. My students are much more excited to write about post about a topic we are studying in class then to write a paragraph with a paper and pencil. I have found that the students are writing more thoughtful material on the blog and it feel like the first time in my teaching experience where students are begging for a post assignment. It seems like they don't realize that they are doing reading and writing work. No more pulling teeth to get my students to read and write.
edublogs.org is a great resource and easy to use and create for the teacher and easy for the students to use. Here is the link to my class blog if you would like to check it out. We have just started so there is not much to it yet but what I have seen with my students to far I know it will be awesome!
Thank you Kimberly for sharing how some of the teachers within your site are using google doc. to record their students formative scores. What I have read so far is great information for all sites to learn about.
I started to use edublogs last year, and I really enjoyed it! I think it is a great tool, but I wonder if you will replace your edublog with a Moodle...I think I will...
I agree with Lily that there are so many out there.... what do we use for our sites. I know that we have used googledocs and our sites coaches have created wikis to interact with teachers after a PD training, but I too am not so familiar with everything that is out there. Principals need training to understand all the different web 2.0 tools so that we may be more comfortable. I know in my university courses I used blackboard learning to interact and collaborate with professors and peers, but if I don't do, I don't understand these.
Web 2.0 can really make life easier on teachers. Google Docs for scores, wikispaces for lessons and links, and now we have Moodle which our 5th grade team is very excited to start working with. I know there is a ton of Web 2.0 sites, but what sites can we use where parents will be at ease knowing that their children are using these sites. Also, in Project Red it states, “Collaboration can now extend beyond the immediate circle of friends to include mentors, tutors, and experts worldwide.” How do we get these worldwide experts involved?
I have used a wiki as my class website for the past couple of years. I like it better than the one I had set up previously, since the kids can interact with eachother & myself on it. (It takes a little while for them to learn the comment section is not an im box haha). I am ashamed to admit, though, I tend to let it lapse each year...as I add less & less to it, and don't reference it as often, they go on with less frequency. Tricky thing, with Web 2.0 - it's fabulous, but it does require efort & committment from both you & the kids...it can't be a set it up & let it fly kind of thing.
This year I have worked with wikispaces... My team has used it to post lesson plans, links and a variety of other resources. It has been extremely useful and has made our team more productive and cohesive. We have also been using googledocs where we post our formative and summative data. We can easily compare data and use it to group our students for interventions. Other staff members have access to our wiki and googledocs, which saves us time. We no longer have to make copies of our lesson plans or provide copies of our data. We simply refer them to the wiki or googledocs, it's been a tremendous tool, and I would highly suggest it to all of you. My goal is to create an equally successful tool for my students to use. I look forward to learning more about moodle and using it with my students in the near future.
I read all the posts in this section and it brought me back to the one implementation factor that I suggested was left out. Teacher time for professional development that is individualized to their needs. We provide I students with individualized means of achieving their goal because every student is different. This is the case for teachers as well. We need time to find those areas we need PD in and the means to do it. We are all at different points in our technology awareness and need to means to be able to go from where we are to where we need to be.
Nice point, Mary. One thing that drove me crazy about someprofessional development with an outside contractor a few years back was that it was never individualized or "differentiated." The contractor touted the benefits of differentiated instruction, but failed to implement it when working with teachers, and a lot of people mentally "checked out." The experience was so negative (the contractor was antagonistic and used public humiliation as a management tool - never good!) that a few teacher sited it as a major reason why they sought jobs in other districts the following year. Web 2.0 seems to offer the opportunity to differentiate teacher PD as well as student work. Also, the presence of the tech facilitators suggest that as-needed, on-demand assistance and training is also an option! I feel optimistic that we are headed in the right direction on this one.
The Arizona K-12 center offers a ton of Web 2.0 tools along with ideas on how to use the tools in the classroom. As far as some that have become effective tools in my classroom. We use dabble board, a tool that allows students to collaboratively work on something. This has become very effective because we are able to connect each groups work to the projector which in then allows a class discussion. Its basically a white board on the computer. I must warn you to play with it first, it can be difficult to implement.
I look forward to using Web 2.0 tools to enhance curriculum.
We use google docs, glogster, facebook (as vetted by teacher), linoit, and moodle. There's others that we use too but I can't remember the others right now.
I have started to use Animoto and just found out about Glogster. I am looking forward to having more technology to try lino it and dabbleboard and others