Web 2.0 Applications in Education
There are many new technologies out there that can help us be better teachers. These resources can capture students' attention and keep them motivated. The Wikipedia defines Web 2.0 as a trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies.
Video Explanation of Web 2.0 : http://dotsub.com/view/f5ba5f55-5aab-4051-a9ad-3adb2fe12c83
General Definition (Don)
Collaborative work (Alex)
Images (Karen)
Video (Heidi)
Video
- Teacher Tube - http://www.teachertube.com - This is an "educational" version of YouTube. Teachers can find short videos on many subjects. Videos are categorized with tags as well as channels that indicate grade level and subject. You can also add channels as RSS feeds on your current site.
- Vodcast - Vod Casts are a video file that you can post to the internet. Again they can have RSS feeds to update your subscribers. This contains a video with or without sound.
- WBGH Sandbox - http://lab.wgbh.org/sandbox/
- The Open Video Project - http://open-video.org/
- Educational Videos - http://www.refseek.com/search?q=educational+videos- Lists mostly free sites. (Jody)
Applications
Google Docs allows users to create text files, spreadsheet documents, and presentations with needing to purchase and install an application on their computers. Having the availability of such commonly used applications is an important step toward the Web 2.0 idea of "cloud computing." Here is a link to a great video from CommonCraft explaining "Google Docs in Plain English."
Wikis (Alex)
Wikispaces with other links.
Web Portal
Distribution Channel (Heidi)
Distribution Channel
iTunes U
iTunes U represents a new way for teachers to distribute lessons and course material in both audio and video format also allowing students to load it onto their iPods.
Capture / Organize (Cindy)
- Jing Project - http://jingproject.com/ - Jing is a supplement to chat discussions, email threads, forum posts and blog entries. It is a free software that is ready to capture images and video and share anything anytime.
- Screencast-o-matic - http://screencast-o-matic.com/ - This is a free and easy to use tool that enales you to capture your onscreen activity. You can record audio via a microphone and have the option to upload and use their server space or save your video as a Quicktime file.
- Screenpresso - http://www.screenpresso.com/ - This is a free screen capturing tool. You can capture part of the screen. You can attach screen shots to emails. You can share screenshots through Twitter and Facebook. it has a built in image editor. (Jody)
- Webinaria - http://www.webinaria.com/ - This is a free screen capturing tool. Files are stored on the site. Screenshots can be shared through email. Screenshots can be embedded on websites, too. (Jody)
Blogging (Cindy)
Blogging is on of the most exciting tools available on the internet in recent years. BLOG is the short term for Web Log. It is an online publishing tool that enables people to easily publish their loves, passions, dislikes, peeves, discoveries and insights. Many teachers have discovered the value of blogging for avenue for their classroom communications. Blogging is a relatively easy tool to use, there are many choices to choose from and best of all most of them are free.
"Blogs in Plain English" is another CommonCraft video explaining blogs.
- Blogger - https://www.blogger.com This is a free and easy to use blogging tool offered by Google.
- Edublogs - http://edublogs.org/ This is a free site where you can sign up for a blog powered by WordPress. This sitle provides a lot of useful information such as "how to use your blog with your students or how to start a conversation using your blog".
- Class Blogmeister - http://classblogmeister.com/ This is one of the several free blogging tools that have been developed specifically for classroom use.
- Word Press - http://wordpress.org/ This is a free and powerful blogging tool
Write to my blog" is a free web based word processor for your Blog. You can create and format your post blog entries from within this site. You can post to multiple Blogs simultaneously and manage your posts. It works with most Blog programs, and best of all is easy to use.
Have you always wished that there was a way to listen to what is on your favorite blog site on your MP3 player instead of logging on and reading it? There is a way and it is free! Check out Talkr
Audio Podcast (Karen)
Podcasting
- itunes
- Gabcast
- Gcast
- Podcastpeople
- Audacity
RSS Feed
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. An RSS feed allows you to stay up-to-date with your favorite sites without actually having to visit them. THe Feed automatically sends the newest information to your website. Here is a basic information page on RSS feeds.
"RSS in Plain English" is a video from CommonCraft that demonstrates RSS in an easy to understand format.
Social Bookmarking (Patti)
The CommonCraft group explains "Social Bookmarking in Plain English" in this brief video.
Digital Storytelling (Patti)
According to Wikipedia, "Digital Storytelling refers to using new digital tools to help ordinary people to tell their own real-life stories."
VoiceThread is a website that can be used to create and share digital stories online
Bubbleshare is another website that can be used to create and share digital stories.
The following are resources related to digital storytelling.
Website hosting (Heidi)
Webpage Hosting
Graphic Organizer/Mind Mapping/Brainstorming
Surveys (Karen)
Surveys
- Survey Monkey
- Poll Everywhere
Social Networking
CommonCraft explains social networking concepts in this video "Social Networking in Plain English."
Created by the Instructional Applications of the Internet course, Summer 2008:
- Karen Amster
- William Butterfield
- Heidi Grunenberg
- Alex Oris
- Cindy Penza
- Patti Porto
- Megan Rodgers
- Jamie Thomas
- Jody Kistler
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