In Today's Class...

... we played with free collaborative web-based tools that educators can use. This is one of my favorite classes because the people are relatively tech inclined, very willing to try new things in the classroom, and CHEAP! We love the fact that all of these tools are free. Those that regularly use the web may not be impressed, those that are not tech-savvy may also not be impressed. That is not my point. With limited readership to my blog I thought that I would just share what we do over here.

Web 2.0 - This is an overused term for collaborative web sites. The tools we are using are considered Web 2.0.

Wiki - a web site where the content is created by the people who visit the site. To use this in the classroom, a teacher must be willing to release control over the course content. This constitutes a paradigm shift for many teachers - especially those like I was that had behavior ratcheted so far down the students could hardly breathe. Ideas for educational use:

• Online "Reference Book" of course material
• Student notes repository
• Book analysis - interconnect titles by subject and themes
• Character analysis in a story
• Student intro pages - Icebreaker activity

These are the ones I use:

GoogleDocs - Sweet merciful lord, how can you not love GOOGLE? They are putting together fantastic apps free of charge. Here's the skinny - free, web-based word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software ... wait for it ... wait for it ... FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH MS OFFICE (v. 2003-4)!

OK, I understand that some of you do not share my joy. Ask this: how many students in a class do not have Office at home or have an outdated version of MS Works? More than most of you outside of education would care to consider. Also, the documents can be shared with unlimited people for editing and even have 10 people editing at once. Students could work at home on a group project without physically proximity. Teachers could collaborate on meeting agendas or various other crap from a distance. Imagine it ... committee meetings in the comfort of your own underwear in your living room.

Del.icio.us - Online bookmarks. Fabulous resource. Don't save bookmarks on the browser on your computer, save them online so you can access them anytime, anywhere and share with anyone. Any questions?

You bookmarks are sorted by tags - little keywords specific to del.icio.us, each bookmark can have multiple tags. So when you want to get someone to just your bookmarks about a certain topic, like, ummm, web 2.0 tools and resources ... (click here), you go to del.icio.us/(account name)/(tag).

I can keep some links private - like I wouldn't want students going to my link for Sarah Silverman's confession to Jimmy Kimmel or a recipe for my Grandmother's cannoli.

Like I said, I love this course. I love free stuff. I love making the lives of teachers easier. Most of all, I love being a gigantic geek.