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Collaborative Web 2.0 tools for Languages
Teachers
Kristyn Paul 2011Project Manager Languages R-12
Teaching & Learning Services4th FloorEducation Centre31 Flinders StreetAdelaide 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 …
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.
Blogs are used to share news & information:
Wikis …
So, what is a wiki?
A wiki contains shared content that doesn't appear in chronological order.
The best known example is Wikipedia.
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.
Use wikis to build learning communities …
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: 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.
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/curriculum/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.cfm
Educational wikis: http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Articles+and+Resources
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.
