This is an interesting video about collaboration and the social shift it brings with it. Clay Shirkey, talks about the time, energy and potentials that used to be lost to dumbly watching TV. How many Wikipedia entries could we get out of these brain cycles now that we can free up that TV time for more productive and satisfying activities again?

the Television Bureau of Advertising reports that while TV viewing among adults has increased by double digits since 1988 (12% for women, 15% for men), viewership by teens and children has been basically flat.

And that’s scary news to those who’d previously thought the internet was a passing fad, that YouTube and Wikipedia would fade away. A 2005 Pew Internet Project study revealed demands by teens for participation and sharing in all media. (see previous post)

And….are our preschoolers really looking for a mouse?

Here’s the talk transcribed: http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html

*93 percent of respondents said they wrote for their own pleasure outside of school, and evidence suggests that an increasing fraction of that writing is done online, either on social networking sites or in blogs. But in class, 82 percent said their assignments tend to be a paragraph to a page long. Part of the problem, the authors suggested, is finding ways to move that excitement about writing into rich, engaging assignments in the classroom.

*86% percent of respondents think that writing is important to their future success. At the same time, 85 percent of them use “some form of electronic personal communication” - such as e-mail, instant messaging and text messages - on at least an occasional basis, even though most of them don’t classify it as “writing” per se. (read pages 35-36)

Question to consider: How do we find ways to move that excitement about writing into rich, engaging assignments in the classroom?

Several of you have asked about starting a blog for your class. This is an excellent tool for students. If you are interested in learning more about how blogs work and how to use them in your classes, please let me know.

The full report can be found at:

http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/247/report_display.asp

What exactly is Web 2.0?

Ask any of your students about their online experience, and while they may not know or can give a detailed definition of the phrase “Web 2.0,” they are certainly living it. Teenagers are using social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo for socializing. No more passing around the photos albums at parties. Digital photos are now directly sent from cameras to photo sharing sites like Flickr and Ringo, where the posted comments by friends are as much a part of the experience as the photos themselves.

In the business world, Web 2.0 is an umbrella term for the second wave of the World Wide Web, which was coined by O’Reilly Media (www.oreilly.com) and CMP Media (www.cmp.com) in their 2004 and subsequent conferences on the subject. Sometimes called the “New Internet,” Web 2.0 is not a specific technology; rather, it refers to two major paradigm shifts.  These new generation web applications provide an infrastructure for more dynamic user participation, social interaction and collaboration.

These new tools include, but are by no means limited to, blogs, social networking applications, RSS, social networking tools, and wikis.

Does Web 2.0 have a place in education? YES!

Here’s a 5 minute video on Web 2.0. Educator Danae Howe gives an illustration on the next internet generation.

Download Title

A wiki is a type of Web 2.0 tool. It’s like a webpage with a collaborative twist. Members of a wiki can add, edit and change the document anytime, anywhere.Want a simple explanation of how wikis work? - in this case to plan a camping trip. Video by Common Craft.
Download Video: Posted by cmantin at TeacherTube.com.http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=b7a75a3ce09d40b497f6 

Wiki Video Tutorials:

Here is a link of short videos on how to get the most out of Wikispaces

A sample of a Student Wiki Webquest: this is a great example how 7th grade students use wiki in a history class.
http://blog.wikispaces.com/2008/02/a-classroom-wiki-webquest.html

Create accounts students using wikispaces without using student e-mails! If you don’t want your students to have to create accounts themselves, just email help@wikispaces.com with a list of usernames, email addresses (if you have them - if you don’t just leave them out), and passwords in the following format and they’ll create the accounts for you. 

user1,email1@address.com,password1  user2,email2@address.com,password2  user3,email3@address.com,password3

A few important notes that will help create these accounts for you quickly:

Usernames: Please make sure that usernames are at least 3 characters long (we allow letters, numbers, underscores _, or dashes -) and that passwords are at least 6 characters long.

Which Space?: Finally, make sure to let them know which space they should add them to as members.

See some examples of other teachers using Wikispaces.Have a look over here. It’s a wiki so you can contribute your own examples and ideas.

You may also want to check out the Wiki Walk-Through from TeachersFirst.

The new generation of NETS focuses less on technology. They’re not about punching buttons, they’re about pushing minds. The new NETS are about enhancing students’ creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving and communication.

Are our students ready for the new NETS? For the most part, our students have never known a world without computers, the internet, video games, and cellular phones. Educators often talk about student expectations on the use of technology in their learning environments. However, few efforts have been made to directly engage students in a dialogue about how they would like to see teachers and their schools use technology to help students learn more effectively. Findings from Project Tomorrow’s 2006 National Speak-Up survey revealed some important information on what students want from technology. The key findings were:

• Communications is still #1 to students (cell phone, IM, text messaging)
• Student possess a online connected-ness creating new definition of “friends”
• Online safety & privacy are not top student concerns
• Students say: “Make science & math relevant to me!”
• Our youngest learners are very tech sophisticated (even at the preschool level)
• Students feel a continued disconnect between them & adults (will that ever change? :) )

Do your students know about the new NETS? How do they feel about them? This past summer our school held a student focus group.  Students participated in a discussion on how they use technology at school and home. We also discussed what ways we could help them be more productive and engaged in the classroom. It was interesting to hear their perspectives and see the commonalities from the national survey. Our students are “hungry” for creativity and the opportunity to share what they know with others.

To read more about the new NETS  for students go to: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/For_Students/NETS_S.htm

Also, to read more about the different types of learning activities in which students might engage as the new NETS are implemented, check out: http://www.iste.org/inhouse/nets/cnets/students/pdf/NETS-S_Student_Profiles.pdf

Questions to consider:

Are you prepared as an educator to participate in the new NET*S?

Do you have ideas on how to enrich current projects with the new NET*S standards?

Video description:  Since most of today’s students can appropriately be labeled as “Digital Learners”. This video was created in an effort to motivate teachers to more effectively use technology in their teaching.

This video was created as an introduction for a presentation at the 2008 Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C). The session was designed to show teachers how different the classroom is from then and now. Questions to think about: Has the classroom changed? Has teaching and learning changed? Can technology help us connect with students?