Extra: Steve Hargadon: Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education

Steve Hargadon: Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education

Because paradigm shifts in education move with the speed of a herd of turtles, this 16 month-old blog post is still relevant to our conversations today. Mr. Hargadon presents some very thought provoking ideas which are discussed even further in the comments from other educators.

Extra: 10 Best Free Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers

Watch this 1 hr video of NECC 09 Presentation by Discovery Education's Steve Dembo.

Thing #16 Wikis

I do like wikis. I have seen many of these library-related wikis and have many of them bookmarked. What I need to see more of are the ways wikis are used in the classroom with students. I believe I already blogged about my efforts to use a wiki with some students this year. I like the fact that you can set it up so anyone can contribute whenever they have time. I did discover Google Sites this summer which also operates like a wiki. I will be trying it out more since we had trouble with our browser freezing when 2 students were trying to log in to Wikispaces at the same time.

The Math Tips was a good idea and the Salute to Seuss project was really neat.

Thing # 15 Library 2.0

I read the Wikipedia article and agree that getting the patron involved in helping shape library services is part of library 2.0. Libraries have always asked for feedback so that they may meet the needs of their customers. It is just with the advent of these new web 2.0 tools that the feedback may be publicly seen on the library website, whereas it may previously have just been a suggestion box of little slips of paper that no one but the library staff ever read. We have finally managed to get our catalog online with Destiny so our patrons can access the information they need from home. Follett has also included the Destiny Quest interface which mimics an Amazon type of search. The covers of the books are shown and a box of suggested titles also appears. The patron can even create their own lists to save for reference anytime. The patrons are even able to leave comments, ratings, and upload digital content they have created to add information about the titles for others to see. All in all, I see the library, be it public or school, as a place that must stay current in order to remain a part of our patrons' lives.

Thing #14 Technorati

I've completed the Discovery exercises for Technorati and looked it over and I still don't see anything of interest to me. I'm not interested in claiming my blog and putting in the html for technorati tags so others may find my blog. I don't like all of the advertising on their pages either. It was interesting that they had a Twitterati that showed the tweets of the bloggers with the highest authority. I looked them over and still didn't see any that I would want to follow.
I guess I'm happy with my Google Reader and the education blogs to which I've already subscribed.

Extra: No Future Left Behind

This video is from YouTube so you may have to watch it from home. If the embedded doesn't work, here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kra_z9vMnHo

Thing # 13 Del.icio.us

I have been using Delicious for about a year now. I still haven't tagged all of the bookmarks I imported from my Google Bookmarks and IE Favorites yet. There is so much out there. I guess tagging is a way to start getting it organized. I learned from this Thing about clicking on the number of times a link has been saved to see all of the notes other people put on it and the other tags they used. I then used one of those tags to find a FANTASTIC resource for using Google Apps with lesson plan ideas and video tutorials. An Almanac of Things for Learning is a Google Site by Google Certified teachers Cheryl Davis and Martha Thornburgh. I digress. Anyway, I love Delicious for the ease with which I can bookmark sites, add notes and tags so I can find them later. I also have added some people to my network but really haven't spent the time looking at their bookmarks or sharing any bookmarks with anyone else.

Thing #12 Rollyo, Wordle, and Animoto

I don't like Rollyo because of all of the advertisment. I tried to create a Rollyo using my school's online encylopedias and it wouldn't work. I can see this might help if a teacher has a list of websites to have the students search. I just didn't get how to put this search on my website. Hmmm.... we call this federated searching in libraries. I'm hoping we get our online catalog set up this summer to do this with our online subscription databases. We usually don't use the open web for research.





Wordle is one application I have used. This is a Wordle of words describing the services the library and librarian can provide. I have this one on my Teacher Resources page of my library website. I am also considering using Wordle to create signs for the Dewey section of my library.



Animoto is my favorite! I have used it to promote the LoneStar books, promote independent reading with a Get Caught Reading video, and created a sample demonstration for students doing a state research project using Texas images as the example taken from Facts on File's World Atlas database. Just found this article of tips to make your Animoto videos better.

Thing #11 Web 2.0 Winners

The link in the wiki pointed to 2008 winners so I searched for 2009 and found Webware 100 2009-CNET I looked at several of the web 2.0 application winners. Many, we have already explored. Of the new ones, I had heard of Hulu but hadn't tried it. I now know where to watch the episodes of The Closer I have missed! I can't wait. Another one I was interested in is OpenID. I've seen it on several websites but haven't tried it. I'm still not really sure but I do like the idea of only remembering one login and password. Skype is another one I've heard alot about but haven't tried yet. It does require a download of software so technically, is it really web2.0? Anyway, I like the idea of having author visits via Skype video conferencing so this is one I'll be looking into some more.

Extra: Google Calendar

Please pardon this extra. I'm practicing with my Google Calendar.