Now that ’15 Things’ has come to an end (for some), there is time to review (see the ‘List of Tools’ page), apply what you have learnt and then check back regularly to see what else is new.
As Web 2.0 tools are increasing in number and variety, use this blog to learn about some which have been used in educational settings, recommended by educators. Choose what you want to use and trial as many as you like. Hopefully, there will be some tools and links to also help you keep track!
A relatively new Web 2.0 tool is known as SimplyBox.
It provides the facilities to collect snippets from web pages (like Window Vista snip tool), provide links back to these (like Delicious) and enable sharing of details, pictures and links with friends and colleagues (like One-Note, Flickr, Facebook, etc.). So it has many tools in one application.
A quick trial run revealed that it is relatively quick and easy to download, and easy to get started:
1. Simple sign-up by choosing a Username, password and adding you email address. A link is sent to your email for verification.
2. You then need to download the SimplyBox toolbar to your browser using the link provided. You can also use SimplyBox without this toolbar.
3. After the installation of the toolbar (see image above), you need to login as a last step (in the toolbar space) and get to work or play! If the toolbar is not showing have a look in View/ Toolbars and select SimplyBox.
4. Once your toolbar is up, you can visit a website then save all, or part of it, to SimplyBox for later referral, or sharing with others.
The introductory video provides lots of suggestions for its use – planning, sharing important sites, and the ability to organise your online serendipitous discoveries in personalised containers and boxes:
I am in early discovery mode so would like to know what others think after they have played with SimplyBox themselves.
Podcasts (and Vodcasts) enable audio and video information to be saved, shared and serialised for use from the Internet and on to devices such as mp3 players/iPods and computers. True podcasts include a regular commitment to sharing information, by having the ability to be syndicated or subscribed to via RSS feeds; though the term ‘podcast’ is commonly linked to single recordings as well.
Some of the simplest ways to locate a podcast for use in schools include:
If you have iTunes, the procedure is relatively simple. Go to the iTunes Store, select the option for Podcasts and then navigate to the Category for Education (or your area of interest). This will show Featured Podcasts first or you can open All. Thus, you will find examples like EdPod. Once you have found a podcast or two that you like, just click on the ‘subscribe’ button, and follow the prompts.
At the moment, there are many language-related podcasts featured here, but there are, if you search carefully, even podcasts for Maths!
A similar process is involved when suscribing to podcasts from other Internet locations. Those mentioned above give numerable options, so they won’t be listed here. Searching on EdNa for ‘podcasts’ also provides links with details about using podcasts in the classroom – see for example, Podcasts in the Classroom from CMIS Dept. Education WA for information about accessing, creating and using podcasts.
When subscribing to a podcast you have found on a web site, e.g. ABC/EdPod, you need to locate the feed (an xml file), and paste/drag or copy this address into your podcasting software (e.g. iTunes or Juice). Then each time you open this software, it should update your feeds for each podcast, depending on your settings.
1. Check out the podcasts on offer from iTunes – you will need to download iTunes to do this step.
2. Search for ‘podcast’ on EdNa, and comment on useful materials from this site.
3. Examine the offerings at ABC, BBC or complete an online search, and then comment on any valuable findings.
If you are assured that it is legitimate to download a video clip – i.e. you have contacted the creator, or have viewed Creative Commons access rights, then you may download a video for use offline. This is useful to overcome times when the internet is inaccessible, or slow to stream. One of the easiest tools for this is realPlayer.
To begin using Real Player, download the latest version from http://www.realplayer.com.au/. Two options exist, including the free basic version – with limited but credible use, and pop-up ads.
Using realPlayer is relatively simple. Just ensure that your have realPlayer open before you access an online video site and select the video clip you wish to save. When the clip is on the screen, simply roll the mouse over the video frame and a pop-up should appear saying ‘Download This Video’. Click this statement to activate the download, or on the dropdown menu to select your options.
Clicking on Play will play the video in realPlayer. Note you can change from Normal (small size) to Theatre (bigger screen) mode, by selecting the drop down in the View menu for better viewing. You can also view your downloaded videos list from MyLibrary.
Even YouTube has a video about downloading from YouTube using realPlayer! See:
Davies, T. Video change: One page guides, Tim Davies, a 23 year old independent consultant, researcher and social entrepreneur now based in Oxford, UK.
Sheko, T. Teachers Today on YouTube. A Teacher-Librarian in Victoria challenges some thought on teachers today based on 2 videos.
1. Download realPlayer then find a video clip from YouTube or TeacherTube to save to your computer.
2. What are the advantages of this use of videos? Problems? Issues?
3. Comment on the value or otherwise of this tool.
4. Do the videos say anything to you?
The attraction and power of visual technology is undisputed. Thus, one of the Web 2.0 tools which has value for educational purposes is YouTube (and similar video sharing web sites.) However, as with any tool, careful thought needs to go into its application in the classroom.
“Herding a class of students down to the computer lab to watch a few catchy videos has no more learning benefit than turning a class of students onto the Internet for a half hour of random surfing. The power of YouTube only is activated when the teacher has a clear idea of how a specific video clip can be used to introduce a concept or theme, instigate a discussion, or serve as a writing prompt.”
- from: Using YouTube in the Classroom, by Brenda Dyck – a sessional instructor at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada).
As can be seen from examples already on this site, there are many useful videos available on the internet – you can find information on how to do just about anything. The trick is to sort through what is valuable, and what is either amateur, or just downright misleading. It can also provide a ready audience, which can be used with discretion, to upload videos to a wider audience – consider the success of new bands/singers promoting themselves.
1. Searching for material
The first step most people take with YouTube is to search for a video. (This requires no sign in.)
A simple search will bring up a list of videos, which have been tagged by those who upload them. Thus, your search can sometimes provide variable degrees of success. A brief summary of what is contained therein may be useful in guiding your choice.
However, as Chris O’Neal pointed out in a blog post on Edutopia, since YouTube is neither filtered or moderated, the search options can occasionally bring up some questionable materials, and should be used under careful supervision. It may in fact be better for teachers to do the searching, and use the next options to show clips to students…
2. Saving material
When you find a useful video clip, you can embed the link into your blog posts, or (with permissions from the creator), capture and save it using one of the many online converter tools. Embedding a video in a blog avoids the issue of students stumbling on inappropriate material when searching for a video directly at the site, and provides quick and easy access.
In Edublogs, to embed the video you can simply click on add media – the icon with the filmstrip, paste the YouTube URL for the video clip into the URL space, and then click on Insert into post. It can be viewed after you have saved your post – select Preview this Page. (This is probably the best option in Edublogs as saving and uploading videos requires greater storage capacity than the standard – you will have to upgrade for this.)
At times, you may need to save a clip for offline use. After considering the copyright issues, have a look at the following blog post which shows one way of saving YouTube (and other online videos): YouTube Blocked? Cool tool #1 http://www.ahistoryteacher.com/wordpress/?p=179.
There are many online tools to capture and convert video – see also Vixy.net (see pictured below) which allows you to save and convert from YouTube and other locations – though you may also need DivX as a media player. This is also discussed in the next post on ‘Using RealPlayer’ – another easy option.
YouTube provides an online video instructing how to upload to YouTube Visit this link which is part of their general Help page to learn about uploading video. Before uploading, consider:
Consider the differing uses and impacts of YouTube in these two instances:
Thus, what do we instruct and role model for our students?
An alternative which has been developing in recent years is TeacherTube. It provides access to educationally sound video clips from around the globe, in a moderated, filtered environment. As a smaller, regulated site, there is less to choose from, and at times it can be slow, but it is well worth a look, as educators build a place to share knowledge. And if you wanted safe place to upload class videos, this is a better alternative.
TeacherTube: A YouTube for Educators outlines some examples and uses of TeacherTube. There are also videos shared between YouTube and TeacherTube at times.
Open University is a recent addition to YouTube amenities. Announced in August 2008, Open University on YouTube aims to provide access to ‘subjects from arts and history to science and nature, in bite-sized chunks of two to three minutes each. OULife is a channel for The Open University’s staff and students to upload their own videos – from graduation ceremonies to video blogs.’
Available from OUView – http://www.youtube.com/ou - it aims to:
“Through YouTube even more people can benefit from our learning materials; they can share the videos with other people and we’ll be able to respond to their views. It’ll be another place for our staff and students around the world to be part of a virtual learning community – but open to all to watch and contribute. The best thing is that being online it’s available 24/7 around the world.” from The Open University launches OUView on YouTube
There are also links to http://au.youtube.com/user/openlearn – well worth pursuing.
1. Search for a video clip on Web 2.0 or Interactive Whiteboards or some area of interest to you. View the results and consider the information given.
2. How would you judge quality of a video?
3. What are some of the problems you have personally noted searching YouTube?
4. Share videos you have discovered on TeacherTube, or comment on Open Learning options.
Ask a question, share an idea, celebrate a discovery or just say ‘Hello”across the twitterverse! Just exactly what is Twitter all about??
The best way to know is to try it out.
Begin at the login page – www.twitter.com.
From here you can easily join – nominating a username and password, and a notification email address. Once logged in, you can begin to add as much (or little) detail as you like to your personal profile. A little will be necessary for others to get to know you (and your interests or areas of expertise), so include the detail you want others to know and share about you.
Then begin to develop your network by searching for people you know and opting to ‘follow’ them.
Then send your ‘Tweet’ in less than 140 characters, and wait for a response.
Once you have found people you know, you can have a look at their networks (the people they follow) and begin to follow others. The video, from Lee Lefever and the Common Craft show, below explains some of the concepts on which Twitter operates.
Perhaps you could look for, or develop a network within the school, or collecting colleagues with similar interests across schools? restricting your contacts might be useful if their level of knowledge sharing is wide enough. Or there may be times when you need expertise from further afield – strangers or distant contacts. Then share usernames, and let the twittering begin!
For some, Twitter may seem a bit superficial or whimsical, but it has possibilities if you develop a strong network of people with similar interests. See the comments /articles below for various views on Twitter. And consider the quote from one of these articles:
‘I think Twitter is an exciting move towards a universal publishing platform. There’s no learning curve or intimidation. We don’t need to be twittering away, updating the web with our most mundane of activities, “I am writing on Twitter about writing on Twitter…”
Use it productively!’
Carp, S. Why I stopped using Twitter, http://publishing2.com/2007/12/11/why-i-stopped-using-twitter/
Childs, C. Twitter: Use it productively, http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/twitter-use-it-productively.html
Waters, S. Are You Twittering? http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/2008/04/02/are-you-twittering-heres-how-i-use-twitter/
Read the online articles.
Try it out.
Comment on your blog about the usefulness of Twitter or a similar concept withhin the field of education. And other places it might be of value.
This Web 2.0 tool has been around for a while now (started in 2003), and has over 5 million users, and displays many of the features of the read/write web.
It is also one of the great examples of collaborative work on the web with more than 150 million bookmarked web sites recorded. See the video below (from Lee Lefever, Commoncraft show) for an explanation of Delicious and social bookmarking:
Using the tools from the Delicious web site enables you to save and organise your bookmarks online. Thus you can access your bookmarks any time you are online on any computer. As a social networking site it also means that you can:
Begin at delicious, and follow the sign up process. You need:
By following the steps given, you will end up registered with delicious, with 2 new icons on your browser toolbar (if not check View/ Toolbars, and click the delicious box).
Then you can start visiting your favourite pages and clicking on the tag icon to begin entering links to your del.icio.us pages. As your collection grows, you can collect like-links in bundles to gain order.
Investigating the links which are popular (i.e. saved by other people), you can click on the number in the right of the bookmark (which states how many others bookmarked this site) and see what other people are collecting – you can see their delicious pages. Privacy is easily enabled if you want to keep a favourite/ bookmark to yourself.
Set up a delicious account according to the instructions above – after deciding a purpose – personal or class use. How might it be useful to you in the future?
In this video Chris Betcher – Sydney teacher and ICT co-ordinator, explains tagging and how it can be useful. (part of the K12 Online Conference 2008)
Investigate one extra aspect of delicious(e.g. searching popular bookmarks or tags, or an established user e.g from the library web site). Comment on your discoveries on your blog.
Comment on any difficulties you have experienced here.
Using del.icio.us in Education, http://www.scribd.com/doc/212002/Using-delicious-In-Education A paper which discusses the mechanics and uses of delicious in education.
N.B. In July 2008, the website’s name and address changed to Delicious when a new design was also launched.
Wordle is a Web 2.0 application which generates a word cloud from text the user provides. This then provides a visual picture, highlighting those terms which are most prominent in a particular body of text or blog site. This can provide for a lot of discussion based on the purposes of the text exploration.
For example, the ‘wordle’ below was created by inputting the famous ‘I have a dream’ speech of Martin Luther King Jr. It is interesting to see which words are most prominent as a result of this creation.
It is relatively simple to use Wordle.
Saving to the gallery is perfectly fine, as long as you remember how you name your images for later retrieval. When using a snipping feature, you must remember to acknowledge ‘Wordle’ with the creation of the image in the first place.
NB. If Wordle doesn’t work for you, make sure you have Java enabled. You can go to java.com to download the latest version. (See Justin if you still have difficulty)
There are a wide variety of uses for ‘Wordle’ depending on the text type you put into it. You can generate:
1. Grab a piece of text or list of terms from which you would like to create an image (e.g Hamlet’s soliloquy?) and add it into ‘Wordle’. Then play with it till you like the effects. Capture the wordle by using ‘Print Screen’, copying into a Word document and cropping the image to size. Then add this to your blog, and comment on what you have chosen to capture, and why. (And how you might use it?)
2. Share other ways that ‘Wordle’ could be useful in educational settings.
NB. I would advise against allowing students to browse through the gallery, except under careful supervision. Anyone can and does use this tool, and some are not as nice as others. It is not a moderated web site.
Many Eyes: Wordle, http://services.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/page/Wordle.html Comment on what it is and how it works.
Education World: Wordle while you work, http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/dyck/dyck030.shtml, Comment and examples of how teachers can use Wordle.
Wordle Word Clouds, http://tcoffey.edublogs.org/2008/08/17/wordle-word-clouds/ A teacher outlines uses of Wordle in practice.
Wordle: Using word clouds in a lesson, http://www.boxoftricks.net/?p=103. Lots of ideas
Just over a year old, LibraryThing has become the place to list your books and share information about your collection. It is a site for book lovers who want to get organised, and get connected to others with interests similar to their own.
To set up all you need is a username and password. (An email address is only needed to retrieve a lost or forgotten password and can be kept private.) Once you have completed these steps, you can start work on your own LibraryThing.
But why would you want to???
1. Just sign up at: LibraryThing
2. Start adding books by clicking on the Add books tab:
3. You can then view your library by clicking on the Your Library tab. Here, you can alter the way you view your library, add or edit details, enter your own tags, and give your books a rating – all by double clicking in the appropriate box. The column to the far right gives detail about how many other users also have a particular book, and from here you can also edit details.
4. By selecting a particular book, you can view:
1. Set up your own LibraryThing
2. On your blog, outline how you might use this with a class or individual. In what ways could this tool motivate students and add to their Web 2.0 experiences? Does it do anything that a private catalogue list might not? (e.g. school library catalogue)
3. Comment on how much (and what) information you might place in your LibraryThing profile and why. What approach do we need to model here for students?
For now, take a breather.
This task is all about sharing and discovery. Based on the activities you have been through already, post a comment here (and on your own blog if you have one) about any blog which you have found useful in education. This can be from the point of view of getting ideas from other professionals, or those blogs you have seen in action linked to a classroom or students.
Post a comment below on those you have found, and indicate why they are inspiring. Or, comment on what your discoveries have lead you to think about doing with your blog, your class or your Web 2.0 learning journey. Feel free to make as many separate comments as you like.
## Haven’t discovered any blogs yet? Then try looking at suggestions from teachers participating in a discussion on EdNa’s Blogging Corner, giving their favourite blogs. Or go back to the page about example blogs to see what you have discovered there.
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