Final Project for Emergent Technologies in a Collaborative Culture

Transitional Moment from Elijah Duncan on Vimeo.

BP12_2010013_oneminute#2

Check out my video about LearnCentral



Reference

Elluminate, Inc. (2009). LearnCentral. Retrieved January 24, 2009, from http://www.learncentral.org/

One Minute Video # 2 from Elijah Duncan on Vimeo.

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You will find the link to my comments on Pedro's one minute message here.

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You can find my comments about Stacie's One Minute Message on Ekoloko here.

BP9_2010013_Web2.0-Vanilla

My search for a Web 2.0 application this month was in part motivated by my Action Research project. My plan thus far is to utilize Web 2.0 tools to increase collaboration amongst a staff that rarely has time to collaborate. Finding a tool to use has not been difficult; in fact, there are a plethora of tools geared towards increased collaboration. In an effort to introduce the most effective tools for collaboration amongst my colleagues, I have established a few criteria. The tool must have little to no learning curve, it must have a clean and simple interface, registration cannot be a hassle, and finally it must be free.

During my first cycle I will be running a Web 2.0 version of our Professional Learning Community book study. These book studies have been very traditional in that we meet monthly over a period of months and discuss the book we are reading. This is usually done during a whole group faculty meeting. These sessions are usually held immediately after school. For the most part, people attend these book studies because they are required to do so; most participants seem exhausted, apathetic, and unfocused. A handful of participants contribute to the dialogue while the majority of the participants remain quiet. In this atmosphere it is difficult to assess whether or not individuals are reading the selected book.

When I was thinking about opportunities for collaboration and communication I immediately thought of our book study. The question was, “How could we utilize Web 2.0 tools to make a more participatory and effective book study?” I immediately thought of our FSO discussion boards. I was curious as to how the discussion forums had evolved since the early days of the Web. All the forums I had dealt with in my life had been very cumbersome and did not have an overall pleasing aesthetic. After searching through numerous hosted and non-hosted options I finally found Vanilla.

Vanilla touts itself as a “super simple discussion forum that you can use to build community.” One of the first aspects of the site I noticed was its minimalistic user interface. It is not unlike Twitter or Tumblr. Registering for the site could not have been simpler. The hosted service is free to its user and offers a few premium services for organizations wanting to integrate the application with there own website. If the administrator is familiar with editing CSS, then the site is easily customizable. Like with many blogging tools, the user can incorporate user-developed plugins. I am excited that I will not have to train my staff to utilize this tool. They simply need to register and they are able to immediately contribute.

I have given you more context for why I needed an application such as Vanilla. In truth, there is not much to describe about this Web 2.0 tool. The simplicity of Vanilla was its biggest selling point. I think it is amazing how some of the simplest applications can be the most user-friendly and effective tools for collaboration.

BP8_2010012_One Minute Message #1

Check out my one minute introduction to Evernote.

One Minute Video # 1 from Elijah Duncan on Vimeo.

Click on the highlighted link to connect to my comments about Wordle on Kathy's Blog.

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Here is the link to my comments about Xtra Normal on Kate Finn's Blog

BP5_2010012_Web2.0_T2-Diigo

This week I had the opportunity to explore a Web 2.0 tool that has grown up a bit since I last used it. A few years back I was determined to organize my bookmarks and went about trying to find the best method for doing so. What resulted was a bunch of accounts set up with no actual bookmark organization happening. I came across several tools that offered different advantages. I was struggling to determine which one to use. My inability to make a decision resulted in no decision being made at all.

One of the Web 2.0 applications I came across was Diigo. At the time I was looking for a bookmarking tool, so many of the other features were not relevant to me. When I originally looked at Diigo it seemed to me that they were still trying to define their presence on the web. There was no real definition of what the application had the potential to do. Diigo now in version 4.0 as defined its purpose and seemed worthy of a second look. The general overview of Diigo is that it provides tools to assist you with the ability to research, share, and collaborate with other Web users.

One of the first aspects of the site that I explored was Diigos potential as a research tool for my action research. Like other Web 2.0 applications Diigo provides an opportunity to bookmark your research. You are able to organize these bookmarks with tags and lists. In addition to the bookmarking feature you are also able to take and archive screenshots of the sites you are visiting. Giving you a snapshot of a moment in time. One of the distinguishing features is the ability to highlight web text and place sticky notes that are persistent each time you visit a site. As a result you are able to return directly to the content you wanted access to without endless searching (Diigo, 2010).

As a user of Diigo you have the ability to share or not share particular bookmarks. You can also make bookmarks available to only certain groups within Diigo. Through establishing connections with others you begin to develop your own personal network of web archivists, researchers, and bookmarkers. The opportunity to collaborate with others is also an exciting feature of this application. Through the creation of groups you are able to document and bookmark the Web specific to the needs of your particular group. Groups can be public or private, large or small. You can even set a pre-defined list of tags for your group to use to insure consistency in your research documentation.

Finally, I am most excited about the features it offers to educators. Once you are enrolled as an educator you are able to establish accounts for your students with or without an email address for registration. Students of the same class are automatically grouped together into a Diigo Group, providing the user with immediate access to collaboration tools. Privacy settings are pre-set so that only the teacher and fellow students can communicate with the student user. One Web 2.0 difficulty I have had is in the ability to register my students for particular Web 2.0 tools. Setting up email for younger students even with gMail is not advised. Lack of email results in the inability to register for many Web 2.0 tools. It would seem Diigo provides a way around this difficulty.

Reference

Diigo. (2010). Retrieved 01/16/2010 from http://www.diigo.com/index

BP3_2010011_Web2.0_T1-listhings

Image screenshot taken at http://listhings.com/

I was thinking today about the materials I use in my classroom. I asked myself, “Is there a Web 2.0 tool that I could use in place of these materials?” I work at an environmental science themed magnet school and I am always looking for was to reduce our classroom consumption of materials. I was also thinking about the routines that I have implemented into my classroom and what materials I needed to maintain those routines. I started going through the list: pencils, copy paper, notebook paper, sticky notes… ahh that was it – sticky notes. I could almost bet that I could find an online equivalent to sticky notes.

I began my search at Go2Web20. After a quick search I came across “listhings.” The sites introductory sticky note read:

Welcome to Listhings!

This is your personal canvas for storing notes. Click on me to edit, or hold down mouse button to drag me around. You can also resize me from the right and bottom edges. Create new notes by clicking «Add» from upper right corner or by double-clicking on canvas.

Notes are automatically and safely stored on the eco-friendly Listhings servers.

This would be perfect. The site could not be more user friendly, all the sites instructions fit onto one sticky note.

You might be thinking to yourself, “What in the world could he be using all these sticky notes for?” A few years back I began to use sticky notes a lot during my literacy block. Prior to this I had used composition books and notebook paper to record student thinking. It always seemed so pointless to put only a few thoughts on one piece of paper. As a result, I started using sticky notes. I found that my students were more concise in their thinking, focusing on the most important parts. As students read independently I ask that they record their thinking on a sticky note. For instance, one person may write about a connection they had with the text, while another might jot down a question they have while reading. As a teacher, I collect these notes in order to assess my kids understanding of a particular text. This has always been so difficult to manage.

Listhings allows the user to create a new page for different context. In my case I would choose a new page for each text. The students reading that text would then post their thinking notes on the virtual board. In turn, I automatically have a record of each students thinking. Having a central location for posting notes also allows my students to review each other’s thoughts. I love how you can take a Web 2.0 tool meant for one purpose (in this case – making lists) and utilize it to facilitate student learning.

Reference

Listhings. (2010). Retrieved from http://listhings.com/

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1. 2 cents Worth: As an educator I think it essential that we constantly ask ourselves questions about our practices. I have followed this blog because the writer does just that; he is constantly challenging his own thinking about curriculum, learning, teaching, children, and their future.

2. dy/dan: This blog is devoted to the daily practice of being a teacher. Every time I read this blog I am struck by the significance that can be found in our daily practice. This writer reminds me that we each have a story to tell and through that story telling we become better practitioners.

3. Ozge Karaoglu’s Blog: Whenever I need to get in touch with my “digital-self “ as an educator, I go to this site. This writer does a wonderful job of reflecting on her practice as a teacher and learner. She also offers practical technological advice about how to integrate technology into your teaching.

4. Two Writing Teachers: Imagine - two teachers meet at a conference and decide that they will stay in touch with one another through a blog. This blog is a collaborative effort between these two teachers of writing. As they reflect on their own and each others practice I am compelled to reflect on my own practice. I took the following section from their site.

Good teaching is good teaching. Too often we get caught up in what’s happening in our own classroom walls or in the faculty lounge of our own school building. This blog is a place that erases all of those barriers and focuses simply on teaching kids to write and catching minds in the midst. It’s happening not only 872 miles apart, but in classrooms beyond our Midwestern town and East Coast City.

TWO WRITING TEACHERS is a place:

For teachers to be fueled with a passion for teaching, writing, and living.

For teachers to see the latest in research and ways to apply it in their classrooms.

For us to “practice what we preach” by sharing our own writing.

To bring writing teachers together to share ideas and stretch each other’s thinking.

To reflect on our teaching — celebrating when it goes well and working it out when it doesn’t.

5. Weblogg-ed: The writer of this blog has been a long time advocate of Web 2.0 and its connection to education. He does a great job at tackling the issues surrounding education and technology. According to the author, “This site is dedicated to discussions and reflections on the use of Weblogs, wikis, RSS, audiocasts and other Read/Write Web related technologies in the K-12 realm, technologies that are transforming classrooms around the world.” This site keeps me updated on the latest innovations in the Read/Write Web.

BP1_2010011_iGoogleScreenShots

I have been trying for the last year to use my iGoogle page. So far I have not used it effectively. Thanks to the class I am currently taking I have some very specific reasons to view and maintain my web portal. I have a sense iGoogle is going to become a part of my daily routine.