I wanted to get some feedback regarding the term Web 2.0. This is wikipedia's definition - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

What does the term Web 2.0 mean to you? as an internet user? as a teacher?

All great ideas are useless unless they have practical application.  That seems to be the case in life both inside and outside of the classroom.

So my question is this: how do you use Web 2.0 tools in your classroom as an effective learning tool? 

Here is one ideas that I like: using blogs for student communication of ideas in literature circles.  The idea is that each literature circle group has it's own blog where it's members (or others in the class/world for that matter) they can post ideas and discuss each chapter of the novel as they read it.  Each student can still have their traditional role of discussion facilitator, connector, etc. including recorder whose role would be to summarize the ideas discussed for each chapter.  The illustrator can use traditional tools and scan a picture to the blog or even use Flickr images (or collages of Flickr images) to express a visualization of the chapter.

The neat part is that literature circle blog discussions do not need to replace traditional face-to-face discussions but can supplement that traditional conversation.  In the end, there is no need to photocopy paper as all written work can be done electronically.  The best part - the conversation need not be confined to the group as the whole class, or the whole world, can access, be a part of, and contribute, to the discussion through their comments.  The quality of the discussion seems to improve as well as students are aware that anyone can see their work.  Thus, they are more conscious of what they publish.

Hi everyone.

At LL2007 I'll be hosting a session centered around social networking and how it can be used to support teacher professional learning. I'll also be covering about this Commun-IT.org site and a bit of the background behind it. If you are interested, there are 2 great articles written recently that you may want to check out:

Wired Magazine article "Don't Tell Your Parents: Schools Embrace MySpace": http://www.wired.com/culture/education/news/2007/04/myspacef

Christopher Sessums blog: (disclaimer - Christopher will also be a guest in Commun-IT's first web conference to be held May 10th)

I'm curious about conference attendees experiences with online communities/social  networks...

1. Which online communities are you a member of? (if any)
2. do you participate in online communities that aren't education related? (e.g. hobbies/interests)
3. have your experiences with online courses for teachers (e.g. ABQs) had a true sense of "community" to them?

 

Hello everyone!

I will be hosting a session on Tuesday about how we have made use of technology as our primary source of access to professional development for new teachers and mentors.  With 800 new teachers hired each year in the Peel District School Board, equity of access is a key goal of our professional development in Side by Side, our new teacher induction program.

We've also learned about implementation of these resources.  Posting on a web-site is not enough.  Getting people to connect to this learning in meaningful ways has been our primary learning in our professional development. 

We've learned to not only communicate the contents but more importantly the possibilities and processes through which professional development can be meaningful and sustainable.  What are some of the communication and training strategies you have adopted in your implementation of professional development?

Is it possible to develop an academic support program offered at a distance that will facilitate success for at-risk students?

Certification Days are an extremely useful tool for engaging students and providing them with authentic industry and service-related training. Three questions to consider:

1. Who will be your target audience?

2. What will be the structure of the day? 

3. How will you generate financial support for the day's activities ?

Hi.  I'm looking forward to sharing how Thames Valley DSB uses the Ministry Learning Management System (LMS) and Educational Resource Bank (OERB).  But fair is fair, how about posting how your board uses the Ministry LMS and OERB?  See you Tuesday, May 8 at 10:45.

E-Learning Ontario will be presenting a workshop on the topic of the OERB at Leading Learning. In this session we will demonstrate the functionality of the search tools, as well as the sharing tool.

The OERB is primarily a tool for teachers to share resources with other teachers and students across the province.

While there are currently over 5000 resources in the OERB, the real power of this tool will come from teachers uploading and sharing their own materials.

Have you taken a look at the OERB yet, and even more importantly, have you shared any of your own resources yet?

We look forward to hearing from you.

Hi everyone!  My name is Nicole DaCosta and I'm with the ABEL program from York University.  I'll be leading a conversation on video streaming.  With resources like United Streaming and sites like YouTube, streaming video can be a valuable and interesting tool to use.  So my questions are:

Have you used and/or created streaming video for educational purposes?

And if so, what impact did it bring?

Hello and welcome to the video streaming blog.  What do you hope to learn from attending the session on using video streaming for learning?

Hello LL Community,  It is with pleasure that I will be sharing some instructional strategies and implementation issues around the SmartBoard technology. I also have the pleasure of presenting with a colleague (Sara McCormick). I am very curious to hear, in what form you or your school have been implementing this fantastic piece of technology. Specifically:

• How do you share the technology in the school? Since the complete SmartBoard setup is quite expensive – do you share it among departments; rotate students into a room with the technology; move the board around the school; have several boards in the school so that sharing is not much of an issue.
• What type of software pieces do use with the SmartBoard?
• Is the SmartBoard a teacher tool in your building? Or have been students been encouraged to use this as they develop their presentations and show their comprehension of various concepts?

 Clayton Ellis

Hi Everyone,

My name is Patricia and I am an ESL Instructor at York University teaching upper-intermediate academic preparation courses. I have been incorporating technology (blogs, flickr, googleearth, googlealerts, lecturepodcasts, 43places) into the ESL curricula in many different ways (journal writing, collaborative projects, listening exercises, research projects) to enhance students' langauge learning environment. 

Some of the tools (googleearth, googlalerts, podcasts) were used by my students to access information they needed for their projects; other tools (blogs, flickr, 43places) allowed students to create their own online presence (blogs were used for writing reflections), create groups (flickr), or connect to others (43places).

My questions for you are:

1. What Web 2.0 tools have you used with your students? What did you use them for?

2. How did the students react to these tools?

3. What were the benefits of using these tools? What were the challenges?  

Looking forward to our discussion!

 

Hi Everyone,

I'm a keyonte speaker on Monday morning at 11:45. The title of my talk is "Teachers, Technology and Students: Teaching Outside of the Triangle." I'm going to talk about today's learners and how (or if) they differ from previous generations of students. To help make my talk more reflective of what you are experiencing today in your classroom, I would like you to take a brief survey. It will only take a few minutes and it is anonymous. Please click on http://www.yorku.ca/surveys/survey.php?sid=224 to take it. Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you at my session.

Ron

 

I'm giving a presentation at the conference outlining our second year of experiences having all of our students from grades 1-12 using board-provided First Class accounts.

I'd be interested in hearing about the experiences of anyone else trying this ... or especially from those encountering any 'political' resistance to the concept. Here are some screen snaps (names blurred intentionally) to give a feel for some of the forums.

 Jeff Catania (eLearning Coordinator)
Halton District School Board