How will you build community and inspire discourse? What are the Non-LMS tools that will help you and how?
Community + Discussion/Discourse + Peer Mentoring + Communication + Collaboration
Community + Discussion/Discourse + Peer Mentoring + Communication + Collaboration
How will you provide content, interactivity with content, and organization? What are the Non-LMS tools that will help you and how?
Dashboard (Where will students go first?) + Content/Lessons/Presentations + Processing Tools + File-sharing + Calendar
Dashboard (Where will students go first?) + Content/Lessons/Presentations + Processing Tools + File-sharing + Calendar
How will you handle assessment as, for and of learning?
ePortfolio + Reflection/Journals + Grade book + Presenting + Assignment (handing-in, feedback) + Feedback (student-student, teacher-student) + Self-evaluations/peer-evaluations + Quizzing
ePortfolio + Reflection/Journals + Grade book + Presenting + Assignment (handing-in, feedback) + Feedback (student-student, teacher-student) + Self-evaluations/peer-evaluations + Quizzing
WORDPRESS
* Building Community * Collaboration *Communication *Content *Organization* E-portfolio *Feedback*Reflection *Dashboard *Calendar
Building an online community is not a simple task, and although there are a vast number of choices of tools available, and in order to liven-up discussion around a particular topic, I would begin with a tool I am comfortable using, WordPress. I already use WordPress in my classroom as a discussion (blogging) tool and as my classroom website. For blogging purposes, the students are provided with a generic password with an “authoring” role, which allow them to log in and add blog posts to the class site without changing any administrative settings. Students are invited to post their reactions and thoughts about particular topics, questions, videos, and articles, as well as to respond to blog posts written by their peers, and with the optional Twitter/Facebook feed, students could view their discussion posts on a social network and perhaps receive instant feedback about their writing. As a community building tool, WordPress provides a venue for students to connect and share ideas in their blogs, or students could create their own WordPress sites for an E-Portfolio. Also, I post a tool called Scoop It for current events and news in a particular subject area.
WordPress works as a decent dashboard as I am able to add classroom content, such as assignments and lecture files/documents and video/audio files. The site also works for adding digital copies of students’ work. The main page also serves as a blog for course announcements and information, and it is possible to embed a Google Calendar for course updates.
WEEBLY & WIX
*E-portfolio, *Feedback*Reflection *Communication*Dashboard*Content
Weebly or Wix website creation tools are effective and easy to use for the budding website builder. I have had students create their own Weebly site with very little assistance. For both Weebly and Wix, the layouts are visually appealing and the drag and drop format are user-friendly. The overall format, settings and ease of use make Weebly and Wix ideal sites for reflecting, journaling, sharing and creating student e-portfolios to showcase their learning. I would also not hesitate to use Weebly or Wix as a dashboard for my all my courses—I would use it as a central area to access all the subjects I am currently teaching. On the Weebly site, students would go to the specific page that houses the course information (example, Psychology 12 page) and click on a link to my WordPress site to access the blog and specific course information. The Weebly or Wix dashboard could also serve as an access point to view the Google Calendar for upcoming events.
VOICETHREAD
* Building Community * Collaboration *Communication
VoiceThread is a cloud application that allows you to upload, share and discuss documents, presentations, images, audio and video files with specific individuals or shared with the “world”. I would use VoiceThread as a discussion tool—perhaps as an opener activity. VoiceThread is a great way to get students engaged in conversation that is quite different from the typical, text-based discussion forum. I think this forum could become quite stale if it was over-used, but occasional usage would make for a more dynamic conversation.
GOOGLE DOCS & FORMS
*Communication *Feedback *Building Community * Collaboration *Content *Organization* File Sharing *Assignment Submission
Google Docs are fantastic for collaboration and communication between students and also provide a means for students to submit work to the teacher for assessment or feedback. All Google products are fairly intuitive and with the ubiquity of Google, a lot of people already have a gmail and perhaps other products from Google. Google Docs lets many students from different locations share and collaborate simultaneously on the same file. I have encouraged students to use Google docs for group work, as it allows both of them to make changes to a document (slides, docs, spreadsheets, presentations) in real-time and make appropriate changes and editing immediately, and since both work on the same document, there is no need to send attachments back and forth (which is always a challenge). As well, there is a chat function available that allows students to communicate in real-time.
For surveys, evaluations and quizzes, Google Forms are a useful tool to help obtain the information you need in an efficient way. If used in conjunction with Flubaroo, one can create a self-marking quiz and have the marks sent out to each student. I have not used either tool, but I really like the fact that survey or quiz is streamlined and may be connected to a Google spreadsheet, and then easily viewed by those you choose to share it with. Also, students could submit assignments by "sharing" them with me--once the assignment has been shared, I would be able to leave my comments on the document, and the student is able to view the shared document.
LEARNBOOST
*Assessment * Feedback
As Kris Seward mentioned, LearnBoost is another Google tool that seems to have many great features for a grade book tool. What I most like about this is the ability to accurately track attendance, which would be quite effective in the f2f classroom. I also appreciate the “wow” factor when it comes to charting progress with graphs and the ability to identify strengths and weaknesses. I am not completely fond of a grade book that regularly updates parents and students as it causes too much anxiety and attention on grades, rather than a focus on learning. As Learnboost is a free tool, it is my top pick for a grading platform.
SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK & TWITTER
*Communication *Feedback *Building Community * Collaboration *Content
Twitter: I have never used Twitter in my classroom, but I know that my students use it and I plan on using it as another means of communication with students and parents. Twitter is a microblog that of 140 characters or less that provides a way to stay connected and share resources from around the world. Within the context of creating discussion and discourse in the classroom, Twitter is a useful tool for communicating with parents, engaging in discussion with students, continuing conversations outside the classroom and creating hashtags for real-time collaboration on group projects. As well, Twitter would work well for sharing useful links to students, and sharing students’ work and encouraging authentic feedback.
Facebook: The current reality is that many students do not have email, and the majority of students and parents have Facebook accounts, and they are all familiar with the tool. Facebook is a way to reach out to students, and it also offers a way of keeping parents informed and encouraging their participation in the learning process. I would set up “groups” on Facebook for specific subject areas, and add students/parents to these groups. Facebook is a powerful communication tool that may help to strengthen connections to students, and it would work well as a learning portal where students are able to contribute to information about a subject/topic by participating in discussions, adding photos, articles and videos. Also, Facebook provides a platform for students to connect with each other—this could be in the form of communication about particular topics, questions, discussions, debates, and collaboration, it keeps all students accountable, and it allows for instant learning and homework support.
BLACKBOARD COLLABORATE:
*Community *Conversation *Collaborate *Content *Feedback
In an opportunity to communicate synchronously students, I would gladly utilize this free tool for teachers ( from Learn Now BC). Collaborate provides an integral means of building an online community that encourages conversation, participation, instant feedback, and aids in fostering relationships between teacher- student and student-student. With Blackboard Collaborate you are able to create a virtual classroom and create student rooms for meetings or collaboration. Within the classroom, students are able to chat/instant message each other, collaborate and application share on an interactive whiteboard, which is also used to display content, in the form of documents, video and audio files . The Collaborate classroom also provides a means to engage in discourse with guest speakers and experts, regardless of location.
PHOTOSTORY, PREZI, SOO META, GLOGSTER, NEW HIVE, STORYBIRD, STORIFY, BITSTRIPS...
*Presentation *Reflection*Conversation *Collaborate*Feedback
The online tools listed above all provide effective and creative ways to present assignments and course material through digital stories. All of the tools allow students to weave various media (images, music, video, voice) to tell a story. Personally, I have used Prezi, Glogster and Photostory with moderate success, and I will continue to use these tools in my teaching. Both Soo Meta and New Hive look to be powerful and creative solutions for presenting work, and I look forward to testing them out. Students must be given the opportunity to showcase their learning with a variety of options for presenting their work, but I always encourage them to use a digital tool. The key is not to force them to use a new technology if it is only going to lead to a lot of frustration—the technology must not get in the way of the learning.
* Building Community * Collaboration *Communication *Content *Organization* E-portfolio *Feedback*Reflection *Dashboard *Calendar
Building an online community is not a simple task, and although there are a vast number of choices of tools available, and in order to liven-up discussion around a particular topic, I would begin with a tool I am comfortable using, WordPress. I already use WordPress in my classroom as a discussion (blogging) tool and as my classroom website. For blogging purposes, the students are provided with a generic password with an “authoring” role, which allow them to log in and add blog posts to the class site without changing any administrative settings. Students are invited to post their reactions and thoughts about particular topics, questions, videos, and articles, as well as to respond to blog posts written by their peers, and with the optional Twitter/Facebook feed, students could view their discussion posts on a social network and perhaps receive instant feedback about their writing. As a community building tool, WordPress provides a venue for students to connect and share ideas in their blogs, or students could create their own WordPress sites for an E-Portfolio. Also, I post a tool called Scoop It for current events and news in a particular subject area.
WordPress works as a decent dashboard as I am able to add classroom content, such as assignments and lecture files/documents and video/audio files. The site also works for adding digital copies of students’ work. The main page also serves as a blog for course announcements and information, and it is possible to embed a Google Calendar for course updates.
WEEBLY & WIX
*E-portfolio, *Feedback*Reflection *Communication*Dashboard*Content
Weebly or Wix website creation tools are effective and easy to use for the budding website builder. I have had students create their own Weebly site with very little assistance. For both Weebly and Wix, the layouts are visually appealing and the drag and drop format are user-friendly. The overall format, settings and ease of use make Weebly and Wix ideal sites for reflecting, journaling, sharing and creating student e-portfolios to showcase their learning. I would also not hesitate to use Weebly or Wix as a dashboard for my all my courses—I would use it as a central area to access all the subjects I am currently teaching. On the Weebly site, students would go to the specific page that houses the course information (example, Psychology 12 page) and click on a link to my WordPress site to access the blog and specific course information. The Weebly or Wix dashboard could also serve as an access point to view the Google Calendar for upcoming events.
VOICETHREAD
* Building Community * Collaboration *Communication
VoiceThread is a cloud application that allows you to upload, share and discuss documents, presentations, images, audio and video files with specific individuals or shared with the “world”. I would use VoiceThread as a discussion tool—perhaps as an opener activity. VoiceThread is a great way to get students engaged in conversation that is quite different from the typical, text-based discussion forum. I think this forum could become quite stale if it was over-used, but occasional usage would make for a more dynamic conversation.
GOOGLE DOCS & FORMS
*Communication *Feedback *Building Community * Collaboration *Content *Organization* File Sharing *Assignment Submission
Google Docs are fantastic for collaboration and communication between students and also provide a means for students to submit work to the teacher for assessment or feedback. All Google products are fairly intuitive and with the ubiquity of Google, a lot of people already have a gmail and perhaps other products from Google. Google Docs lets many students from different locations share and collaborate simultaneously on the same file. I have encouraged students to use Google docs for group work, as it allows both of them to make changes to a document (slides, docs, spreadsheets, presentations) in real-time and make appropriate changes and editing immediately, and since both work on the same document, there is no need to send attachments back and forth (which is always a challenge). As well, there is a chat function available that allows students to communicate in real-time.
For surveys, evaluations and quizzes, Google Forms are a useful tool to help obtain the information you need in an efficient way. If used in conjunction with Flubaroo, one can create a self-marking quiz and have the marks sent out to each student. I have not used either tool, but I really like the fact that survey or quiz is streamlined and may be connected to a Google spreadsheet, and then easily viewed by those you choose to share it with. Also, students could submit assignments by "sharing" them with me--once the assignment has been shared, I would be able to leave my comments on the document, and the student is able to view the shared document.
LEARNBOOST
*Assessment * Feedback
As Kris Seward mentioned, LearnBoost is another Google tool that seems to have many great features for a grade book tool. What I most like about this is the ability to accurately track attendance, which would be quite effective in the f2f classroom. I also appreciate the “wow” factor when it comes to charting progress with graphs and the ability to identify strengths and weaknesses. I am not completely fond of a grade book that regularly updates parents and students as it causes too much anxiety and attention on grades, rather than a focus on learning. As Learnboost is a free tool, it is my top pick for a grading platform.
SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK & TWITTER
*Communication *Feedback *Building Community * Collaboration *Content
Twitter: I have never used Twitter in my classroom, but I know that my students use it and I plan on using it as another means of communication with students and parents. Twitter is a microblog that of 140 characters or less that provides a way to stay connected and share resources from around the world. Within the context of creating discussion and discourse in the classroom, Twitter is a useful tool for communicating with parents, engaging in discussion with students, continuing conversations outside the classroom and creating hashtags for real-time collaboration on group projects. As well, Twitter would work well for sharing useful links to students, and sharing students’ work and encouraging authentic feedback.
Facebook: The current reality is that many students do not have email, and the majority of students and parents have Facebook accounts, and they are all familiar with the tool. Facebook is a way to reach out to students, and it also offers a way of keeping parents informed and encouraging their participation in the learning process. I would set up “groups” on Facebook for specific subject areas, and add students/parents to these groups. Facebook is a powerful communication tool that may help to strengthen connections to students, and it would work well as a learning portal where students are able to contribute to information about a subject/topic by participating in discussions, adding photos, articles and videos. Also, Facebook provides a platform for students to connect with each other—this could be in the form of communication about particular topics, questions, discussions, debates, and collaboration, it keeps all students accountable, and it allows for instant learning and homework support.
BLACKBOARD COLLABORATE:
*Community *Conversation *Collaborate *Content *Feedback
In an opportunity to communicate synchronously students, I would gladly utilize this free tool for teachers ( from Learn Now BC). Collaborate provides an integral means of building an online community that encourages conversation, participation, instant feedback, and aids in fostering relationships between teacher- student and student-student. With Blackboard Collaborate you are able to create a virtual classroom and create student rooms for meetings or collaboration. Within the classroom, students are able to chat/instant message each other, collaborate and application share on an interactive whiteboard, which is also used to display content, in the form of documents, video and audio files . The Collaborate classroom also provides a means to engage in discourse with guest speakers and experts, regardless of location.
PHOTOSTORY, PREZI, SOO META, GLOGSTER, NEW HIVE, STORYBIRD, STORIFY, BITSTRIPS...
*Presentation *Reflection*Conversation *Collaborate*Feedback
The online tools listed above all provide effective and creative ways to present assignments and course material through digital stories. All of the tools allow students to weave various media (images, music, video, voice) to tell a story. Personally, I have used Prezi, Glogster and Photostory with moderate success, and I will continue to use these tools in my teaching. Both Soo Meta and New Hive look to be powerful and creative solutions for presenting work, and I look forward to testing them out. Students must be given the opportunity to showcase their learning with a variety of options for presenting their work, but I always encourage them to use a digital tool. The key is not to force them to use a new technology if it is only going to lead to a lot of frustration—the technology must not get in the way of the learning.