PYLUSD Web 2.0 Pilot

Final Week

2009-03-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

We all enjoyed our last Web 2.0 Pilot meeting on Wednesday. We loved the YouTube- even though some of us got sucked into the world’s best time-waster! Several people found some great class appropriate content and downloaded using atubecatcher- thanks again to Jeremy. The ebooks were a mixed bag. Several of us, being digital immigrants, just aren’t ready to lose our dog-eared tomes for an ubercool Kindle. But, to have a read aloud tool for struggling readers is an obvious academic application. Many of us are familiar with Audacity and use podcasting already. We love the potential for kids to show their grasp of the content in a new way.

All members found definite value in this training and walked away with things to apply to the classroom. Some things take more prep work than others, so might be more of a long term goal rather than an immediate additional strategy. The number of applications we covered was a little overwhelming to some. We agreed it would be impossible to apply all 23 “things” immediately. It is great, though, to be able to refer back to what we learned over time and add these applications gradually.

The cohort model was great because it gave us all accountability to each other and helped most of us stay on schedule. It was also was helpful to refer to team members’ blogs since we often had different takes on an application. We learned so much from each other in terms of the scheduled “things” and other things we found through this exploration and shared during our meetings. Everyone would be interested in another class of this type if it was offered.

Thanks to each and every member of this cohort. Learning with you was productive and so fun. And isn’t that what lifelong learning should be all about?

Week 9

2009-03-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

We had a great meeting yesterday.

Google docs seem to be useful not only for our use, but for student collaboration. One major benefit that came up was the ability to keep current versions of documents in one place. Several of us use several computers and have had the problem of modifying a document on one computer and not the others. If we keep our documents online, we only have one place to update and always have access to the modified version. We are also excited about having students collaborate using docs. Another benefit could be PLC across the district. Many of us relish the opportunity to collaborate with teachers in other schools and this might be the tool that allows that to happen.

LibraryThing was a surprise to us all. Most of us were a little burned out by this time and not too enthused about something that really only seemed relevant to librarians. But those of us who took a look were very excited about the ease of use and possible classroom applications. We were thinking about booklists for pleasure reading, student/class book review for Language Arts, school library book reviews…

As usual, the group had so much to share. Other than the super cool Plinko that Michael is building, he introduced us to Pandora.com which is like LibraryThing, but for music. Jeremy also shared with us atube catcher which allows you to download youtube video to your computer. Although we can override the youtube block aat school, we have some major concerns about inappropriate adds or recommendations that tend to pop up there. Atube catcher omits all the ads- very cool for classroom use.

For our last week (sniff,sniff) we will be exploring podcasting, you tube and ebooks. For those of you who are a little behind in your “Things” please do your best to catch up before our last meeting. See you for the last meeting next Wednesday, March 18 at 4:00 in Travis room 30.

Week 8

2009-03-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

We had a good meeting yesterday about wikis. We did not find much in the way of practical, useful things in the sandbox wiki. It really made us conscious of the kind of effort it takes to have a successful wiki. Many of us liked some of the wikis we explored. The AP World History wiki and library wiki were both notable. However, concerns were raised about moderating changes and the amount of time it would take to make accounts for all students and to maintain the site. As we discussed possible solutions and applications, we kept coming back to blogging instead of wiki. Our group seems to be more comfortable with the blogging and its ease of use- probably due to the blogs we have maintained for this class!

This week we will be exploring google docs and Library Thing. Some of us have already had some experience with google docs and we discussed some applications and are going to make an effort to really look at collaborative documents.

See you for our next meeting on Wednesday, March 11 at 4:00 in Travis room 30.

Week 7

2009-02-26T12:10:00.000-08:00

Many in our group are not too hot about the tagging applications. We have found that it seems less complicated to use google images. Some of us have expressed that we might just not be familiar enough with the process to use it effectively yet- maybe with more practice.

We had quite a discussion about copyright and how teachers flaunt it. We also agreed that this site gave us some great lessons to use in class before embarking on research projects. Creative Commons is cool- but most in our group are not creating original works on a regular basis that would need copyright protection.

As for the Horizon Report- it is a fascinating- if long- read. It is definitely worth scanning though and taking note of what they expect to be the “next things” in educational technology.

If you are a BTSA participant, please make sure you are posting an entry for each of the “things” we are learning and label the posting according to the “thing” it addresses.

See you next Wednesday, March 4 at 4:00 in Travis room 30.

Week 6

2009-02-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

Get a Voki now!

We had a great meeting Wednesday. The image generators were a huge hit with the group. Classroom applications are obvious and many in the group have already used bighugelabs.com for student work.

The web2.0 awards have some great sites including online storage. Many of us got distracted with the image generators and will be going back to browse this site again later. The rollyo looks promising, but a lot of time investment that many of us don’t have time for right now- maybe a good summer project.

Katie shared some awesome apps she found by browsing around teacher blogs. We loved the imagechef.com where you can make customized signs and video clips. But, the favorite was voki.com where you make a talking avatar. You can type in what they say and choose a voice, or record your own voice. Importing into your blog is also simple. This was definitely the highlight- and justifies working in a cohort as we probably would not have seen this without Katie sharing in our group.

This week we will be exploring tagging and copyright issues. See you Wednesday, February 25 at 4:00 in Travis room 30.

Week 5

2009-02-12T09:53:00.000-08:00

This week, we explored RSS feeds. The consensus of the group was that they are cool when you already had a source you wanted to subscribe to, but bloglines search did not result in many hits for us. We thought it would be useful for students to subscribe to our blog sites and maybe some content related feeds, but we had concerns regarding possible inappropriate content. This was not the group’s favorite application so far.

We had an interesting discussion about feeds we subscribe to- especially Josephson’s Character Counts.

As is the case in great collaborative groups, we all learned about a cool web app from one of our members. Michael showed us google galaxy and showed us how he utilizes it in his language arts class. It was so fabulous- but again- be careful about content-that was an interesting conversation.

This week’s “things” are really cool: online image generators and web 2.0 award winners.

See you next Wednesday. February 18 at Travis, room 30.

Week 4

2009-02-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

We love the flikr mashups and can see many uses in the classroom. These are especially useful for students to show their learning in a creative way.

People are still having fun adding gadgets to their blogs and members of our group were really able help each other out.

One member asked for suggestions about how to spend a small grant. The group had some great suggestions for technology tools that can be incorporated into applications we are learning in this class.

We had a great discussion regarding technology issues. Some of the topics included the gap between hardware and funding. Frustration is high when we have out of date tools or even when LCD bulbs burn out and there is no money to replace or fix. Imagine 35 third graders staring you down as you try to get a stubborn program to cooperate! Many teachers want to utilize technology but feel like they can’t rely on the hardware they have. Another issue centered around the disparity among staff with regard to ability or interest in using technology in the classroom. New teachers especially are reluctant to share with more experienced staff members since they do not want to seem disrespectful. Some expressed concerns about posting student pics online and 1 teacher shared an idea about a "photo release permission signature" that she includes in her class syllabus- a great idea!

This week will include RSS feeds.

Please try to make at least 1 comment on a colleague’s blog this week. Nothing is more lonely than a blog with no comments.

If you had to miss this week, just make up the work on your own and join us next Wednesday, February 11 at 4:00 in Travis room 30.

Week 3

2009-01-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

Everyone was so excited about using blogger in this pilot and we discussed its use in the classroom. An essential component for classroom blogging is the moderation feature which allows the teacher to control what comments actually get published. The avatars were fun and add a cool element to the blogs.

If you have yet to send me your blog url, please do so as soon as you can so I can link it to our pilot site. jbremer@pylusd.org

This week we will be working on "things" 5,6 &7. Please make sure to post a reflection of each "thing" on your blog.

Please also take a look at one of our colleague's blog and make a comment on at least 1 posting.

If you missed last week, just keep up on your own and join us next Wednesday, February 4 at 4:00 in Travis room 30. Feel free to email the group if you get stuck or have questions. We are all here to support each other.

Week 2

2009-01-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

We began with a discussion about lifelong learning. Most people in class are dedicated to lifelong learning- or they wouldn't be in this group! :) The most common challenges to lifelong learning were time and confidence.

We began work for week #2. We will be setting up our own blogs for this class and include avatars.

Please make sure you send me your blog url so I can link it to our class website. My email is jbremer@pylusd.org Our class site is http://pylusdwebpilot.blogspot.com/ Check it out and take a look at some of the blogs from our group.

Our next meeting will be next Wednesday, February 4 at 4:00 in room 30. If you have been unable to attend any of the meetings, please try to catch up this week so you don't fall behind the group. Remember, you can get all the information and links at http://classroomlearning2.blogspot.com/

See you soon.

Week 1

2009-01-15T07:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all you who were able to make it to our first Web 2.0 cohort meeting. For those of you who had BTSA and union meetings, I committed to sending out mini-minutes to the group each week so everyone will be on the same page.

1-14
1. We established the norm of starting right at 4:00 and ending no later than 4:30 in order to respect everyone’s time and other obligations. If you need to come late or there is traffic- don’t worry- get here when you can and jump right in.
2. Classroom Learning 2.0 homepage is http://classroomlearning2.blogspot.com/ This is where you will find all the assignments and links for each week.
3. This week, we will do “Things” 1 & 2. Explore the site to learn about the program and complete the exploration about lifelong learning.
4. We will meet Wednesday, January 21 to discuss our learning and our next tasks.

Have a great week. I look forward to learning with you.

Welcome!

2008-12-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

Classroom Learning 2.0

This course is a discovery learning program. Each participant discovers and learns different tools and ideas as they travel through 23 Things or activities. High school history teachers, for example, will have a different learning adventure than a middle school science teacher or a fifth grade teacher because of their specific knowledge of curriculum and students. Learn web 2.0 tools while having fun doing so!

Tutorial Format:
Each week begins with a brief explanation of a new web 2.0 topic, followed by Discovery Exercises. These exercises give you the background you need to understand the tools you're learning about. Don't skip them! After the Discovery Exercises, you'll find a Thing -- activity -- to complete. After each Thing you will write about the experience on the blog you will create. In
other words, you will comment or "post" to your online log (Blog.) You will learn how to set up a blog in week two. This is a tool to communicate your thoughts, new found skills, ideas, questions, and favorite websites. You'll receive feedback and encouragement from other participants. In turn, you will provide feedback and encouragement to others. It's your space!

Week 1:
1. Please begin by reading Classroom Learning 2.0 blog & find out about the program.
2. Discover a few pointers from lifelong learners and learn how to nurture your own learning process. CSLA SLL 2.0 and CL2.0 Management/User’s Guide February 2008. P. 12

Week 2: Blogging
3. Set up your own blog , add your first post, add an avatar.
4. Register your blog! Send Fresno Fun Web 2.0 Team your blog's URL. It will be posted here with the rest of the participants' blogs. The list of blogs will be at the right side of this page. Have fun! In order to qualify for special recognition, you will need to register your blog with the PYLUSD Web 2.0 Pilot blog. Note: Please remember to include Week# and Thing #
in your heading posts.

Week 3: Photos & Images
5. Explore Flickr and learn about this popular image hosting site.
6. Have some Flickr fun and discover some Flickr mashups & 3rd party sites.
7. Create a blog post about anything technology related that interests you this week.

Week 4: RSS & Newsreaders
8. Learn about RSS feeds and set up your own Bloglines newsreader account.
9. Locate a few useful school classroom related blogs and/or news feeds.

Week 5: Play Week
10. Play around with with an online image generator.
11. Explore any site from the Web 2.0 awards list, play with it and write a blog post about your findings.
12. Roll your own search tool with Rollyo.

Week 6: Tagging, Folksonomies & Technorati
13. Learn about tagging and discover Del.icio.us (a social bookmarking site)
14. Explore Technorati and learn how tags work with blog posts.
15. Copyright, Creative Commons, and What's Coming Down the Road with Web 2.0.

Week 7: Wikis
16. Learn about wikis and discover some innovative ways that educators are using them.
17. Add an entry to the Learning 2.0 SandBox wiki.

Week 8: Online Applications & Tools
18. Take a look at some online productivity (word processing, CSLA SLL 2.0 and CL2.0 Management/User’s Guide February 2008. P. 13 spreadsheet) tools.
19. Take a look at LibraryThing and catalog some of your favorite books.

Week 9: Podcasts, Video & Downloadable Audio
20. Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow users to upload and share videos.
21. Podcasts - no iPod needed!
22. eBooks and Audio eBooks
23. Summarize your thoughts about this program.
Copyright, Creative Commons, and CONGRATULATIONS!

http://schoollibrarylearning2.blogspot.com/