This blog is intended to help teachers who want to use more technology in their classrooms but feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of material out there, or who are just looking for some new ideas. I will try to show what technology has worked and what hasn't worked for me, from both learning and classroom management perspectives.
I am talking with the elementary teachers at my school today about using wikis in their classes. When asked to do this, I debated about whether to get them started with pbwiki or wikispaces (time did not allow to get them started with both, nor did it seem logical although they will be introduced to all free educational wiki options to explore on their own). I have been using pbwiki this year and really like it, mostly because of being able to create accounts for my students without email addresses along with the look of it. But wikispaces allows you to create student accounts now also if it is an educational wiki. Wikispaces also has more editing features that I think are important for teachers who are still getting used to web use in their classroom. I have had to look up code for several things that I wanted to put on my pbwikis that some teachers may not want to do. So, while I still fully endorse and love pbwiki, I have decided to focus on wikispaces for this post. I will hopefully give an in depth look at pbwiki in the future.
Wikis in the Classroom
Wikis are a very valuable tool for use in the classroom for many reasons. I use a wiki in my library classes and recently had students write their own ending to The Giver on it. After they were finished, I embedded a Google Docs form allowing them to vote for their favorite endings based on the categories of "Best Ending" and the "Most Creative" ending. The winners' writings will be displayed in the library and on the wiki once all votes are in. This is just one example of student sharing. The possible uses of wikis in the classroom are endless, but here is a presentation by @tombarrett titled 9 Interesting Ways to Use Wikis in the Classroom to get you thinking.
If you are interested in starting an educational Wikispaces wiki, below is a step by step guide that I created to get you going.
I have also recorded a screencast of the process for those of you who prefer a visual presentation.
Skype is a free internet phone service that allows you talk, video chat, or text chat free to anyone else with a Skype account. For example, while living in Chile, my mother was able to see and talk to my first born son as soon as we got home from the hospital via Skype.
You also have the option to deposit money into your account to make phone calls to land lines or cell phones or send SMS messages for a small fraction of the cost of your traditional service.
The service that has been most useful for me is having a Skype phone number. I was able to pay a small fee to have a phone number with my home town area code that people could call (local charges for them if they were in that area code and skype fees for me, which are minimal) at any time. I also had that service forwarded to my cell phone in India while living there so that anytime I was offline and someone from the US or anywhere else called, the call would go straight to my cell phone.
Skype can also be very useful in the classroom. While living and teaching in India, I had to return to the US for a family emergency and missed two weeks of school. By using the very interactive software DyKnow and Skype, I was able to teach my students in India from Texas. I used DyKnow to present the lesson, and Skype to talk to them. It was amazing. When I returned, it was like we never missed a beat.
There are also other various ways to use Skype in the classroom. Students can communicate and collaborate with each other or with students from other schools. Teachers can collaborate with each other no matter their location. Files, images, videos, and links can also be shared via Skype. The options are limitless.
Below is an excellent tutorial video by Cool Cat Teacher to help you get started with Skype as well as ideas for how to use it in the classroom. I also highly suggest you check out her blog post about skype. You can follow her on Twitter at @coolcatteacher.
I was recently introduced to Glogster by Neil Stephenson (@neilstephenson) on his blog Thinking in Mind. Glogster's logo is "Poster Yourself", but it also has an educational version that allows students to make private interactive posters. Posters can have video, sound, images, text, and links.
Below is an example of a student Glog: (right click for full screen option)
Getting Started with Glogster:
To get a Glogster account as a teacher, go to glogster.com/edu and register your virtual class. You will have an option of registering your students with accounts (which is great for students who cannot do email confirmation and for teachers that want to keep their students' work private).
Once you have your account, you can create a glog. Below is a short tutorial video to help you get started:
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