Transcript web2tools - Web2 - 4 Languages Teachers

Collaborative Web 2.0 tools
for Languages Teachers
Kristyn Paul 2011
Project Manager Languages R-12
[email protected]
Teaching & Learning Services
4th Floor
Education Centre
31 Flinders Street
Adelaide SA 5000
What this presentation will cover …
 Web 2.0 - What is it?
 Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0
 Why work collaboratively?
 Collaborative tools:
 Blogs
 Wikis
 Social Bookmarking
 Cloud computing
What is it?
Some definitions of web2.0:
 The second generation of the World Wide Web, especially
the movement away from static webpages (web1.0) to
dynamic and shareable content and social networking.
 Web2.0 does not refer to any specific change in the
technology of the Internet, but rather the behaviour of how
people use the Internet.
 Web2.0 enables people with no specialized technical
knowledge to create their own websites, to self-publish,
create and upload audio and video files, share photos and
information and complete a variety of other tasks.
In other words …
Or …
Why work collaboratively?
 A disconnect exists between how most students learn in
school, how they engage outside of school and the skills
they need to thrive in society.
 By working collaboratively, students can learn to
participate in a community, take more responsibility for
their learning and be better prepared for a world
dependent on shared technology.
 With technology, collaboration can occur within and
beyond the walls of the classroom.
 Research shows that when students work
collaboratively, the following occurs:
 they learn faster and more efficiently
 they have greater retention
 they feel more positive about the learning experience.
Other benefits …
 Students:
 have a vested interest in the learning of others as
well as their own
 share successes with one another and with the
broader group
 support and encourage one another and
 provide suggestions for improvement.
 Technology can be used to enhance the
collaborative experience and make it more efficient.
Working collaboratively …
 Student collaboration takes place in a student-centred
classroom environment.
 The following characteristics can be found in student
centred classrooms:
 Learning is active.
 Learning takes place in rich, generally authentic contexts.
 Learning is social enabling students to connect with one
another and develop positive relationships.
 Tasks are from the real world and assist students in developing
lifelong skills.
 Teachers act as facilitators.
Benefits of peer work …
 Complex tasks can be more difficult to complete
alone than when working with others to pool
knowledge, skills and resources.
 Students working alongside their peers generally
results in the following:
 Understanding of concepts is clarified.
 Students’ own thinking is reorganised.
 Understanding of the material is deepened.
 Feedback from peers is used to improve their work.
Blogs …
Blogs are used to share news &
information:
 Entries appear in the order in
which they were created, with
the most recent entry
appearing first.
 Only the most current entries
appear on the main page of
the blog.
 Older entries are still available,
and can be found and viewed
by searching or navigating
using the date controls.
Wikis …
So, what is a wiki?
 A wiki contains shared
content that doesn't
appear in chronological
order.
 The best known
example is Wikipedia.
Use wikis to build learning
communities …
 Students can work on different aspects of the same
task and then come together to share information.
 Separate pages can be readily linked together.
 Students can contribute to and rework shared
content.
 The benefit of a wiki is that the knowledge of the
group is greater than that of an individual.
What the experts are saying
about wikis …
 Wikis are helping young people to develop “writing
skills and social skills by learning about group
consensus and compromise—all the virtues you
need to be a reasonable and productive member of
society.”
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia
 “The media is controlled by people who have the
resources to control it,” he says. “Wikis show that all
of us have an equal opportunity to contribute to
knowledge.”
Andy Garvin, head of the Digital Divide Network
What’s the difference between a
wiki and a blog?
A blog is like a book:
single author
A wiki is like a library:
multiple authors
In practical terms this means?
The type of information you want to put on your site will help
determine whether it appears in a wiki or in a blog.
Security …
 Both blogs and wikis have in-built access
controls to determine who can read and
write to the blog/wiki.
 With wikis, many teachers fear that
students will destroy the content on a page
– but you can always revert to previous
saved copies!
Some practical suggestions …
 Use a blog and wiki yourself.
 Decide on your purpose for using a blog/wiki.
 Check out other blogs/wikis.
 Analyse the genre in class.
 Make the rules & expectations explicit.
 Make the blog/wiki public.
Benefits of a real, live audience …
 Students generally make more of an effort when
they know that their work will be shared with an
authentic audience.
 A first hand account from an expert provides insight
into an experience more powerfully than just factual
information.
 Technology makes it possible for students to share
their work and collaborate with other students
around the world.
Suggested uses for a wiki …
 Collaborative task between your school and a sister
school – e.g. exchange of cultural information. NB
information/resources can be shared teacher to teacher,
not just student to student.
 The wiki can be used as:
 A classroom discussion and debate area.
 A place to aggregate web resources.
 Students/the teacher can embed the following elements
directly into the Wiki:
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Youtube clips
Podcasts
Avatars (using Voki)
Interactive posters (using Glogster)
PowerPoint presentations (using Slideshare)
Good educational blogs …
 Check the features of the various free blogs before
deciding on which one to use.
 Edublogs was designed for an educational
environment:
 It filters what adverts are shown
 It won’t link to inappropriate sites
 For a low one-off fee, some of the blogs can be ad free.
 Many of the blogs have FAQ and "Blogger Basics" sections
to help with technical setup.

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Edublogs: http://edublogs.org/
Blogger: https://www.blogger.com/start
Wordpress: http://wordpress.com/
Good educational wikis …
 Try them out before you decide on which one to use.
They have slightly different features, e.g. some enable
you to easily track student participation while others can
be set up so that no advertising is displayed.
 Wikispaces: http://www.wikispaces.com/
 PBWorks (the educational version of PBWiki):
http://pbworks.com/academic.wiki
 Wetpaint: http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/
Examples of effective blogs
and wikis
 Kris Paul has developed a wiki to support languages
teachers:
http://web2-4languageteachers.wikispaces.com/
 Check out the Useful blogs and wikis section to see
some excellent teacher developed examples.
Where to get more information: Blogs …
 The Education department, Western Australia:
http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curricul
um/ict/weblogs/
 Sue Waters “The Edublogger”:
http://theedublogger.com/
 A-Z of school bloggers:
http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers
 Content delivery in the “Blogosphere”:
http://www.thejournal.com/articles/16626_1
 Will Richardson “Weblogg-ed”: http://weblogg-ed.com/
Where to get more information:
Wikis …
 Wiki ideas for the classroom:
http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/wikiideas1.cf
m
 Educational wikis:
http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Articles+and+R
esources
Social bookmarking …
Found a good web site?
Now what
do you do
with it?
Save it for later?
Share it with the world?
Benefits of social bookmarking …
 Bookmarking sites for later is a great idea but you need time
to organise your favorites or you’ll just end up with a long
list.
 What happens when you are at work and the link you want
is on your home computer?
 Putting this bookmark on a social bookmarking site means
you can access it from any device with an internet
connection.
 The use of tags means that you can quickly narrow down
your search for a saved bookmark.
 Even better, you can share your web addresses with people
who have similar interests to you!
 Check out my links: http://delicious.com/kristynpaul
Cloud Computing …
 “Cloud computing” is a general
term for anything that involves
delivering hosted services over
the Internet.
 Dropbox (www.dropbox.com)
uses cloud computing to enable
users to store and share files and
folders online.
How does Dropbox work?
 Dropbox allows you to sync your files online and
across your computers automatically.
 2GB of online storage for free.
 Sync files of any size or type on Windows, Mac & Linux
Computers.
 Automatically syncs when new files or changes are
detected.
 Dropbox allows several people to collaborate on
the same files using shared folders.
 See other people's changes instantly.
 Control who has access to your shared folders.
Where to from here?
 Try out some of the tools in the time remaining in this PL
session:
 Go to Kris Paul’s wiki and click on CENTRA presentations
http://web2-4languageteachers.wikispaces.com/
 Enrol in the DECS Web2 tools Moodles:
 Go to http://dlb.sa.edu.au/csmoodle
 Click on Languages. You will then be prompted for your
user name & password (or register if you haven’t done so
already).
 Click on the first of the ICT courses – Collaborative Web
2.0 Tools. You will be prompted for an enrolment key. This
is web2tools – lower case, no spaces.
 Work through the course at your own pace, completing the
activities as you go along.
Next CENTRA event
 A further two CENTRA sessions are planned for
semester 2 2011:
 Web 2.0 tools for languages teaching (with a focus on the
4 macro tools & vocabulary builders).
 More web 2.0 tools (with a focus on other tools that have
cross-curriculum application).
 Your Language Centre Key Teacher will provide you
with more details closer to the dates.