Technology in Education: Internet, Web 2.0, and more

1. Technology in Education: Internet, Web 2.0, and more Dr. A. Stylianou University of Cologne July 2, 2010

2. Outline • The changing classroom • What is Web 2.0 • Web 2.0 tools for student and teachers • Blogs, Wikis, Podcasting • Learning Environments, Virtual Classrooms, Virtual Worlds • Social Bookmarking & Other Sharing • Twitter & RSS • Discussion Forums, Online Communities and Social Networks • Web 2.0 and Language Learning • Web 2.0 risks, issues, and gains • In the Lab - Practice Session

3. Changing classroom

5. What is Web 2.0? Brainstorming

6. Web 2.0 – another view “It is the radical democratization of media which is enabling anyone to publish anything on the Internet. Mainstream media's traditional audience has become Web 2.0's empowered author. Web 2.0 transforms all of us -- from 90-year-old grandmothers to eight-year-old third graders -- into digital writers, music artists, movie makers and journalists. Web 2.0 is YouTube, the blogosphere, Wikipedia, MySpace or Facebook. Web 2.0 is YOU!” Andrew Keen (Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2006)

7. What is Web 2.0? • Key Characteristics • The web as a platform • Harness collective intelligence • User-generated content • Collaborative • Loosely connected individuals • Also known as • Social Media • What makes them “social” • Collaboration • Community • Sharing • Openness

9. Web 2.0 facilitates Communication Information sharing Interoperability User-centered design Remote collaboration Lecture capture Experimentation Classroom memory Communities of interest Engagement Experiential learning Project-based learning Cross-cultural sensitivity Reflective thinking Group work Different learning styles Student-centered learning

10. General tools Web conferencing Online libraries RSS feed generators Twitters Photo & video editing Problem solving Animation Digital magazines Organizers Planners Journals Resume builders Web site builders …

11. Tools for Students

13. Tools for Teachers

14. Social networking is educational • “According to a recent study by the University of Minnesota, the use of social networking sites is narrowing the technological divide between low- and high-income kids in that they are all learning vital computer, communication and socialization skills while using these networks. • What we found was that students using social networking sites are actually practicing the kinds of 21st century skills we want them to develop to be successful today” From http://www.rhastings.net/archives/139

15. Blogs • Create content – usually single author • Include text, links, images, video, sound • Connect to outside content • Share with your students • Engage & empower the students • Invite them to comment, react, share their thoughts and ideas • Build a conversation with and between the students • Showcase student work • Have students create their own blogs and comment on the blogs of others • Follow the evolution of their writing and thinking over time • Open up the classroom walls to the world • Connect to other teachers, students, classrooms • Examples • http://yollisclassblog.blogspot.com/ • http://missbakersbiologyclass.com/blog/ (search goldfish) • http://nobles.typepad.com/isearch/ • How to do it? • http://www.blogger.com

16. Blogs + Great archive + “link love”: Google loves them + foster dialog + great exposure + insightful comments • Comments might need moderation [source: Peter Bihr, workshop at UOC]

18. Wikis • What is it about? • Easily editable web pages • Collaborative content creation • Create together, contribute • Edit other people’s contributions • Keep track of and even reverse changes • Encourage student interaction • Facilitate group work • Students can post their projects for others to see. Can include text, audio, video, images • Access to the class from outside of school • Work from other students from around the world - http://myschool.wikia.com/wiki/WikiVille • Examples • Henry IV wiki – 9th grade - http://reidenglish.wikispaces.com/ • How to do it? • Google Sites • Wikispaces - http://www.wikispaces.com/

19. Wikis + Knowledge transfer + Easy + Collaborative • Time consuming ? Secure

20. Podcasting • What • Portable content • Content sharing • Why? • Download & listen to wherever you want • Record & share your lessons • Tap into student creativity • Tools for creating Podcasts • Audacity • Windows Movie Maker • Apple Garage Band • Resources • The Education Podcast Network • Podcasts for educators

22. Learning Environments • Course Management Systems (CMS) • Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) • Learning Management Systems (LMS) • Collaboration and Learning Environments (CLE) • Features: • Collaboration tools: wikis, blogs, calendars, discussion forum, feedback, … • Teaching & learning tools: syllabus, lessons, assignments, gradebook, tests & quizes, activity reports, …

23. Learning Environments Modular object oriented dynamic learning environment Using Moodle in the classroom

24. Learning Environments Let’s try this one in the lab

25. Virtual Classroooms Elluminate Wimba

26. Virtual Worlds • E-Learning platform • Hold classes • Educational Uses of Second Life(7”) • SL in Education presentation(1hr20”) • Education in SL: Explore the Possibilities(6”) • Social Networking • Communities of practice • E.g., Webheads@Edunation

29. Social Bookmarking & Other Sharing Scoopler: http://www.scoopler.com – Meta social Digg: http://digg.com – Content sharing Flickr: http://www.flickr.com – Photo sharing Delicious: http://delicious.com – Social Bookmarking Group research and discussion - http://www.diigo.com/education Shared files, folders, documents - https://www.dropbox.com/ Shared knowledge: Google knols Live events: CoverItLivehttp://www.coveritlive.com

30. Collaboration - • http://wave.google.com/ • What is it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDu2A3WzQpo • Overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6pgxLaDdQw • 15 features: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBzuuWZPaXc • Wavebots: http://googlewavebots.info/

31. RSS • RSS – Really Simple Syndication • Web feeds (channels) • Can be news headlines, audio, video • Users can subscribe • When you update or create new content, the user’s RSS reader retrieves it automatically • Example: RSS feeds at UNC Charlotte

32. Twitter • Twitter • Social networking and microblogging service • Send and read messages known as tweets • Text based, up to 140 characters • Displayed on author’s profile page • Delivered to subscribers (followers) • Can restrict access or allow open access • Can receive online or through SMS

33. Twitter in Education • Use cases include: • Communications tool for collaborating researchers • To get students to focus in a concise way on a topic • For conference attendees to discuss topics • To track topics (by keyword) • Get instant, informal feedback • Classroom “back channel” • Immediate communication with students while not in class [source: Peter Bihr, workshop at UOC]

36. Discussion Forums, Online Communities, and Social Networks • Discussion Forum • Modern bulletin board • User generated content • Can register or be anonymous • Threads • Some are moderated • Examples

37. Social Networks - Ning Create your own social network – http://www.ning.com Own your member data Member profile pages Can use blogs, forums, videos, images Run your own ads Add an online store Add events Built-in fundraising tools Use groups to organize the participants Easy integration with Facebook, twitter, tec. Example: Teachers Using Technology Ning in Education

38. Social Networks - Grou.ps

39. Web 2.0 & Language Learning • Blogs • Englishclub.com • http://www.eflblogs.com/ • Top 100 Language Blogs • Podcasts and Vodcasts • Listen-to-english.com • ELT Podcast • iTunes free language lessons – 35 languages • Handspeak.com • Online Communities, wikis, etc • italki.com • Busuu.com • Livemocha – 6 million users • Learning language through technology - technoLOTE

40. Web 2.0 & Language Learning • What about • Google Translate - http://translate.google.com • Type phonetically using Roman characters - Google transliteration - http://www.google.com/transliterate/ • Do you speak a language but cannot read its script? Google script converter - http://scriptconv.googlelabs.com/ • Interact and speak with someone virtually in Second Life

41. More wonderful teaching tools • Classroom protected blogs - http://classchatter.com/ • Brainstorming & thinking guides • http://www.exploratree.org.uk/ • http://bubble.us • Collaborative document creation (etherpad.org) • http://primarypad.com/ • http://typewith.me/ • Collaborate some more • VoiceThread - http://voicethread.com • Interactive Posters - Glogster EDU - http://edu.glogster.com/ • http://libraryfan2.edu.glogster.com/glog-basics/ • http://librariantiff.edu.glogster.com/web20apps/ • Install poll - http://www.polleverywhere.com/ • Talking photos - http://blabberize.com/ • Storybook creator for kids • http://www.kerpoof.com/ • http://www.tikatok.com/ • Talking avatars - http://www.voki.com/

42. Web 2.0 Risks Information overload Privacy Losing the audience Liabilities Costs: time-consuming Losing control [source: Peter Bihr, workshop at UOC]

43. Web 2.0 Issues • Social media are unordered & messy • Technology problems • Unstable software • Adoption speed – how to keep up? Fear of being left behind • Constant partial attention • Are you listening? • Inequity in student access • Institutional restrictions • Time constraints • Which is real and which is virtual?

44. Web 2.0 Gains Constructive dialog Knowledge transfer and learning Engaging Transparency Direct feedback More efficient communication Collaboration & teamwork Wisdom of crowds Aggregation of information, data, ideas from everywhere Students already using  more engaged

45. Case Studies & Resources Social Media in the Classroom Teachers Embracing Social Media in the Classroom 100 Inspiring Ways to use Social Media in the Classroom Classroom 2.0 – have a look at the "Tour of Classroom 2.0" webcast video Gold student – Problem of the Day Social Media & Open education readings and more …

46. Can we learn while playing 

47. Edtechteacher Wiki challenge #1!Create & edit your wiki page • Sign up for a free wiki at: http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers • Choose a “space” name for your wiki that’s memorable, and says a little bit to kids about what the wiki is about • Once you have joined, click out of the introduction and begin to “Edit” • Write a paragraph that says a bit about what you are hoping to gain from teaching with web 2.0 • Set the title of your paragraph as “Heading 1” text • Use bold, italics, and colored text at various points in your paragraph • Save when you are finished • Below your paragraph, start a list of links to favorite resources. Add 3 links. Use a “Heading 1” title for this list. • Below the links, add links to your groupmates’ pages in “Heading 2”. Hint: Look for the “Insert Hyperlinks” button • Find at least one image on your computer and add it to your wiki page. Note: small images are much easier to work with. Hint: Click on Insert Image and using the bottom box in the pop up menu. Save it! • Create a new page and name it (“Unit 1,” “labs,” “Grammar,” “Projects,” etc). • Find an image on the web and add this image to your new page. • You can download the image to your computer and then upload it to your wiki page, • OR: You can get the URL for an image by right clicking the image and choosing “Copy Image Location.” • Add the url in the appropriate box • Upload a PDF, Word, or Excel document to your wiki page. Save it! [Source: Tom Daccord, http://edtechteacher.org ]

48. Edtechteacher Wiki challenge #2!Manage your wiki Invite your group members to join your wiki (Hint: Look in “Manage Space.”) Set your wikispace permissions to “protected.” Set up notifications so you can monitor “all changes” to your wikispace, and receive email updates. Change the wikispace time zone. (optional) Apply a new ‘pre-made’ theme. Help your groupmates. Make sure that everyone is up to speed!

49. Edtechteacher Wiki challenges #3, 4! Challenge #3: Start and respond to a Discussion • Click on the discussion tab on your wiki page and start a “thread” entitled something like: “Where to go from here?” • Go to one of your groupmate’s pages. Read their paragraph about what he/she is hoping to gain from teaching with web 2.o. Click on his/her discussion tab. Leave an idea you have about teaching with a wiki. Challenge #4: Add multimedia and interactivity to your wiki • Create a new page and name it. • Embed a youtube or teachertube video onto your new page. • Hint #1: Find source code for video at youTube.com or teachertube.com. • Hint #2: Look for a helpful widget on wiki page • Embed a Table of Contents widget on your “home” page • Hint: Create three lines of ‘Heading1’ text on your page so you can see the table of contents

50. Edtechteacher Advanced Wiki challenges • Revert one of your pages back to an earlier edit. • Hint: Look for the “history” tab • Edit your navigation bar. (Caution! Do not delete the navigation widget.) • Embed a poll or spreadsheet on your wikipage. • Hint: you can make a poll at polldaddy.com, or surveygizmo.com • Embed a googledocs calendar or spreadhsheet Help your groupmates learn “advanced” features. Make sure that everyone is up to speed.!