Technology Tools

In this section, you'll find quality resources on this page related to technology tools, Internet resources
and utilities, and professional development resources.

Technology Tools

Ten Technology Tools: Overview

● Data/Calculation Tools & Technology

● Design Tools & Technology
● Discussion Tools (Forums, Blogs, Chats) & Technology
● Email Tools & Technology
● Handheld Devices in the Classroom
● Instructional Tools & Technology-Rich Learning
❍ Software Reviews

● Interactive Tools & Technology-Rich Learning

● Publishing/Visual Tools & Technology
❍ Graphical Organizers

❍ KidPix and Tuxpaint in the Classroom

❍ Kidspiration and Inspiration in the Classroom

● Multimedia Tools & Technology

❍ Digital Audio

❍ Digital Video

● Writing Tools & Technology

 Internet Resources and Utilities

● Adobe Acrobat
● AntiSpam Software and Reducing Email Junk Mail
● Filtering Tools and Issues
● FTP Software
● Screen Capture/Grabber Software
● Web Whacking
● Technical Writing: How To's, Tutorials, and Directions

Professional Development Tools for Teachers

● Teaching, Learning, and Technology Professional Development Resources

● Technology Tutorials for Teachers

● HOME
● TECH & LEARNING
● INTERNET RESOURCES
● LIBRARIES & LITERACY
● TECH TOOLS

| eduscapes | IUPUI Online Courses | 42explore | escrapbooking | About Us | Contact Us | © 2000, 2007
Larry Johnson & Annette Lamb
Teacher Tools: Puzzle, Quiz, and Activity Builders
How can I provide extra practice for student who need additional help?
How can I make my own online puzzles and quizzes?
How can I build online communications projects for my class?

Explore websites that help teachers and students create puzzles, worksheets,
quizzes, and other online materials makers.

If you just want to have some fun, check out The Generator Blog. It contains lots of websites to generate fun
things from wallets and trading cards to wanted posters.

Teacher Tool Starting Point

Many educators use full-service teacher websites that provide a wide variety of tools and resources. These
are the most popular options, but there are many other subscription services.

● 4teacher.org (free, some subscription) - this free resource began as a federally funded project, but is
becoming increasingly subscription-based.
● Discovery Teaching Tools (free, but advertising) - lots of great tools, but also contains advertising.
● Toolkit from Scholastic (free, scholastic ads) - contains graphic organizers, rubric maker, flash card
maker, to-do list, calendar and much more including home page option.
● Teach-nology (subscription-based, lots of annoying advertising) - different subscription levels are
provided

Blog Services

Blogs are web logs that arrange postings (i.e., text, graphics, audio, video entries) in reverse chronological
order. Most allow comments. They're a great place to journal, log ideas, and gather reactions.

● General Services
❍ Blogger from Google (free)

❍ Word Press (free) - use their free service or download their software on your web server.

● Education Specific Services

❍ Class Blogmeister (free) - great tool if you want to manage students blogs

❍ Edublogs (free, or subscription) - be sure to look for their free service. They also have

services for K12 students, university students, and ESL students.

❍ epals blogs (subscription) - student and class blogs

❍ Gaggle blogs (subscription) - student and class blogs

Bookmarking Tools

If you want to be able to access your bookmarks from any computer, try a bookmarking service. This is an
easy way to organize starting points for young people. Social bookmarking has become popular. These tools
allow users to add tags to describe the contains of the page. Others can then find associated website
resources.

● General Bookmarking Services

❍ Google Bookmarks (free) - online bookmarks (you can also do this on your igoogle home

page)
❍ Porta Portal (free, contains google ads) - popular with teachers, this tool lets you organized

your bookmarks
❍ Yahoo Bookmarks - online bookmark

● Social Bookmarking
❍ Blinklist

❍ Del.icio.us (eduscapes example)

❍ Furl

❍ Ma.gnolia.com

❍ MyWeb 2.0 from Yahoo

❍ Reddit

❍ Scuttle - you can Scuttle install this one on your own server

❍ Simpy

❍ Spurl

Calendar Builders

Whether creating daily assignments or organizing school activities, you'll find an online calendar to meet your
needs. Before you choose, think about who will access the calendar and whether you want it to be
collaborative.

● General Purpose Collaborative Calendars

❍ Google Calendar (free) - online calendar

❍ Yahoo Calendar (free) - online calendar

● Education Specific Calendars

❍ Assignaday from 4teachers (free) - education-focused

❍ Scholastic Calendar (free) - education-focused

Course Builders

These tools provide features such as course rosters, discussion forums, quiz builders, upload/download
documents, email and more. Although designed for teaching online courses, they can be used by anyone
who wants to use course tools.

● Blackboard (subscription only) - build an online course; technical support provided with subscription
 ● Moodle (free open source) - open source course builder; easy to install on your own web server.

Collaborative Documents and Graphic Organizers

You may use Microsoft Office, Inspiration, and other desktop applications. However when you need a
collaborative tool, look for online applications.

● Gliffy (free) - share and collaborate on concept maps

● Google Docs and Spreadsheets (free) - share and collaborate on word processing documents or
spreadsheets
● Thinkature (free) - share and collaborate on concept maps

Discussion Builders

If you'd like your students to participate in open or closed class discussions, you'll need a tool for creating
forums and class discussions.

● General Purpose Forums

❍ egroups from yahoo (free) - online sharing and posting

❍ google groups (free) - online sharing and posting

● Educational Specific Tools

❍ epals (free & subscription options) - locate others; join or start a discussion

❍ nicenet - build threaded discussions

❍ Intercultural Classroom Connections (free) - locate partners

Email

If you need a permanent email address, consider one of the many email services.

● General Services
❍ Google

❍ Yahoo

● School Specific Services

❍ epals (subscription, filter available)

❍ gaggle (subscription, filter available)

Feed Reader

If you like to read blogs but are overwhelmed with keeping track of all the options, you need a feed reader.
Also known as an web reader or RSS feed reader, this tool will help you get organized. It can be used for all
kinds of web feeds including text, images, audio, and video.

● Bloglines - eduscapes example

● Google Reader

Lesson Plan Builders

A lesson plan builder can help you organize and store your lessons.

● Lesson Planner from Discovery (free, with advertising)

Notes Resources and Tools

Tools are available for taking notes online as well as help for writing professional notes (i.e., letters to
parents, permission forms).

● Casa Notes from 4teachers.org (provides templates for teacher notes)

● Google Notebook (free) - provides an area to take online notes

Personal Portals

Create your own personalized home page. These tools will help you access and organize news, weather,
blogs, and other up-to-date resources. You can access anything with an RSS feed. Select a theme with your
favorite colors and images.

● iGoogle
● MyYahoo
● MyMSN

Social Networks

You're probably familiar with MySpace and Facebook, but did you know that there are many other social
networks that have applications in teaching and learning?

● General Purpose
❍ Library Thing (free for 200 entries) - organize and share your book collection

❍ Second Life - (free or subscription) virtual world designed for adults; but areas are being

designed with educational applications

● Designed for Young People
❍ imbee (free and subscription) - social networking for kids

❍ Whyville (free) - virtual world designed for kids

Reading Level Estimators

Having trouble checking the grade level of a specific text? Or, need help assessing reading? Try these tools.

● Level Estimator (free) - Choose a level and child reads. (free)

● Reading Assessment Calculator (free) - Enter running words, errors, and self corrections and it
provides a printout. (free)

Rubric Makers

If you're making rubrics, try the following rubric makers.

● Rubistar (free) - this rubric generator helps you create rubrics from templates in six different areas
● Teach-nology Rubric Generator (free, lots of annoying adds, or subscription) - learn to create a
dozen different types of rubrics.

Quiz and Survey Builders

● Profiler PRO (free) - survey maker

● QuizStar by 4teachers (60 day trial; subscription)
● Quiz Center from Discovery School (free)
● Quiz Hub - (7 day trial; subscription)
● Quiz Lab - (30 day trial; subscription)
● Quia - subscription (30 day trial; subscription)
 ● QuickBox - helps you create a quick that can be placed on your blog (just provides feedback)
● Survey Monkey - basic features are free
● Zoomerang - choose basic level for free (10 day window of data storage)

Web Page Builders

● Activity Pages
❍ Filamentality (free) - make single page hotlists, samplers, webquests, and other instructional

materials
❍ Web Worksheet Wizard (free) - build single page worksheets

● Teacher Pages
❍ Scholastic's Class Homepage Builder (free)

❍ Schoolnotes (free) - class web page

❍ TeacherWeb (subscription) - make teacher web page

● Student Pages
❍ Project Poster (free) - student project pages

❍ MatMice.com (free) - easy to make student pages!

● General Purpose
❍ Google Pages (free)

❍ Yahoo Pages - Geocities (free)

❍ Links to others

Wiki

Want to great your own wiki? Try one of the free websites or download some software to your own web
server.

● Wiki Services
❍ JotSpot (no ads; free for 5 users, 10 pages, 5MB file size, 100MB space)

❍ Nexdo (free for 5 users; 10MB server space per team)

❍ pbWiki (free with google ads)

❍ SeedWiki (no ads; free users, pages, limited access to page stats)

❍ Wikispaces (free to teachers) - be sure to check out the teacher section

● Open Source Software

❍ Php Wiki (free, GPL) - uses PHP

More Tools and Builders

● Google Labs (free) - check out the latest tools and other options
● 37 Signals - basics are free
❍ Basecamp - project collaboration

❍ Backpack - organize information

❍ Campfire - group chat

❍ Ta-da List - group lists

❍ Writeboard - free, sharable, web-based text documents

● InstaColl (free) - software to partner and share Office documents

● MoonEdit (free) - multiplatform collaborative text editor
● WetPaint (free) - combines forums, wikis, and website building

Puzzles, Certificates, and Flash Card Makers

● Certificate Creator
● A+ Flash Card Creator
● Puzzlemaker from Discovery School
 Lists of Links to Teacher Resources

● Teacher Tools of the Week

● Teacher Resource Center - links to lots of other resources

Build an Activity
Use building tools to create a project.

● HOME
● TECH & LEARNING
● INTERNET RESOURCES
● LIBRARIES & LITERACY
● TECH TOOLS

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Larry Johnson & Annette Lamb
Learning Spaces: Collaborative Web and Wikis

Collaborative technologies are generally web-based tools that involve two or more people working together in a virtual
environment to create something greater than could be build independently. Rather than simply viewing existing
information, emphasis may be placed on authoring content. These environments may be predominately text-based or may
incorporate audio, video, and animation.

Read An Information Skills Workout: Wikis and Collaborative Writing (PDF) by Annette Lamb and Larry
Johnson in Teacher Librarian (June 2007).

Check out Kathleen Picken's project on how to Create a Family Wiki Tree. It provides great directions for creating a
wikispace and designing a family tree project. What a wonderful idea for a public library or school library program! Go to
the Wedding wiki for another example of a wiki that would make a great library program.

Web-based Collaboration

Although we'll be focusing primarily on wikis, there are many other collaborative tools such as shared documents, calendars,
bookmarks, and spreadsheets. For instance, Elgg is a collaborative community for educators including blogs, as well as
social and collaborative spaces.

There are also many shared text editors, website editors, and project collaboration tools. Here are a few examples of web-
based tools that facilitate collaboration:

● 37 Signals - basics are free

❍ Basecamp - project collaboration

❍ Backpack - organize information

❍ Campfire - group chat

❍ Ta-da List - group lists

❍ Writeboard - free, sharable, web-based text documents

● InstaColl - software to partner and share Office documents

● MoonEdit - multiplatform collaborative text editor
● Vox - share text, graphics, audio, video, and more
● WetPaint - combines forums, wikis, and website building
Collaboration involves cooperation, interdependence, and synergy. For example,
individuals, classes, or clubs at different points along an earthquake fault might
analyze the ground movement and share their findings on a wiki.

Or, they may share their animal tracking data regarding big horn sheep. It would be impossible for one person to collect all
this data independently, but by working together they have more data for research and learning.

In another example, the local historical society would like to create a history of the town. They invite anyone who has lived
in the area to share facts and figures, along with their insights and experiences. The resulting wiki contains multiple
perspectives that would probably have been missed if the project had been created by an individual or small group.

Wikis Defined

Many tools can be used for collaborative creation and maintenance of websites. Wiki-based systems are popular because
they are simple to install and contributors don't need special software.

A wiki is a type of website that uses "open editing" collaborative software technology to provide an easy way for multiple
participants to enter, submit, manage, and update a single web workspace. Users make changes by selecting from options
and filling in forms on a web page. Authorized users can add and delete links, pages, and content. In some cases, a moderator
approves changes before they are posted. Some wikis also provide a way to track changes and view earlier versions of pages.

The word wiki (WikiWikiWeb) comes from the Hawaiian word for "quick" or "fast" meaning that a virtual collaborative
team can quickly construct an interactive website. Although wikis have been around for a decade, they've gained popularity
the past couple years because of the many new tools available.

Blogs vs. Wikis. While blogs are highly structured with postings listed in chronological order, wikis are much more flexible
stressing hyperlinks, categories, hierarchies, and varied organizational structures. In addition, blog postings can only be
edited by the author, while wikis encourage collaboration and often allow any registered user to edit.

Read Wikis from Digital Pencil for a brief introduction and great examples for school librarians.

Read Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not by Brian Lamb in EDUCAUSE Review (Volume 39, Number 5, 36-48,
September/October 2004).
Read Wiki Module from Ed Tech Talk.

Listen to EDUCAUSE Pocket Edition #5: Wikipedia for an informal introduction to wikipedia.

Wiki Characteristics

Although the wiki software can be used in many ways, most wikis share some basic characteristics that distinquish them
from other social and collaborative technologies. The following list is adapted from Brian Lamb's (2004) Wiki Essences:

Unique. Why reinvent the wheel? With billions of pages on the web, wikis try to fill a nitch focusing on original content
rather than rehashing information found elsewhere. When additional information beyond the scope of the project is needed,
you don't need to copy it. Instead, a simple link is all that's needed.

Collaborative. It's lonely to create a wiki by yourself. They're designed to be free, open spaces for sharing. People don't
worry about the author or owner of a wiki. Instead they concentrate on the synergy that comes from building a project as a
virtual team.

Open Editing. Wikis are designed as collaborative environments where anyone can add or edit anything at any time.
Although some wikis require contributors to register, most allow anyone to join in the fun.

Simple Coding. Rather than using complex software, wikis rely on simple web-based forms and basic HTML code and
formatting tags. Spaces are removed from phrases to easily create new pages based on topics such as OrganicFood or
InquiryBasedLearning.

Evolving. Although some wikis projects have a limited life, most are designed to be neverending. Someone plants the seed
and the wiki grows in endless directions taking on a life of its own. Wikis are in a constant state of change. Wikis encourage
people to start an idea and let someone else finish the thought or add polish.

Wiki Software Features

Although wikis share many of the same characteristics, some vary in terms of features. Below is a list of options to consider
when selecting a wiki you might use in a collaborative project based on Wiki Choicetree.

● User Management
❍ Public, Restricted, Open

❍ Permissions, Privileges, Passwords

❍ Roles, Groups

❍ Moderation

● Content Organization and Access

❍ Content Posting Management

❍ Data Storage (text file or database (SQL))

❍ UniCode support

❍ File Attachment

❍ Hierarchical Pages

❍ Categories

❍ Search Engine

● Content Formats
 ❍ Charts and Graphs
❍ Graphics

❍ Polls and Voting

❍ Spreadsheets

❍ Web-based Presentations

● Formatting
❍ Cascading Style Sheets

❍ Mindmapping

● Editing Options
❍ Markup (wikipedia-style markup)

❍ Visual Editing

❍ Quick Change Editing

❍ Revision Controls

❍ Renaming Options

❍ Editing Individual Sections

❍ Action Tracking

● Notifications
❍ RSS Feed Syndication

❍ Email Notification Option

Wiki Exploration

The power of social and collaborative technology is found in the synergy that’s created when individuals work together.
Wikipedia is probably the best known example of what happens when thousands of people work together to build a
collaborative, online encyclopedia using wiki software. Created as a free encyclopedia, anyone can register and become a
contributor.

Besides the encyclopedia, other areas have emerged. Go to Wikimedia for an overview including a collection of free, open-
content textbooks called Wikibooks including Cookbook and Wikijunior. Also check out the Wiktionary.

Explore some examples of wikis (Go to WikiIndex for more examples and Wikia for topic communities) :

● Bloomingpedia - Bloomington, Indiana

● BizWiki through OSU Library
● Bright Green Living (About)
● Digiwik: The Digitization Wiki
● Garden Guide Wiki
● IPL's Teen Poetry Wiki
● More Perfect (About)
● Redwall Wiki
● SciFi/Fantasy Wiki
● Social Justice Movements (About)
● StarBase 118
● Wiki Classical Dictionary
● A Wiki of Unfortunate Events: Lemony Snicket (About)

Student Wiki Projects

● Voices from the Schoolhouse

● Mrs. Cassidy's Grade One Classroom Wiki
 ● Mrs. Cassidy's Grade One Dinosaur Wiki
● The Wright 3 - Grade 6

Be sure to check out library and educational technology wikis:

● Blogging Libraries Wiki (About)

● Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki
● School Computing Home Page
● Teacher Librarian Wiki

Examine the wikis above. What's the focus of each wiki? How are they alike and different from each other? Register and
expand the wiki. For help, read the first two pages of the Wikis in Teaching and Learning (PDF) handout by Annette Lamb.

Wiki Use

Wikis long to be edited. You know you've found a wiki if you see an [Edit] note under a paragraph or at the bottom of a web
page.

Most wikis contain similar tools for making additions and edits. New pages are added by entering a linked word or phrase as
a WikiWord or typing text inside [[double brackets]]. Increasingly, wikis are using a visual interface making them much
easier to edit.

A few websites (i.e., MediaWiki Sandbox, WikiSandbox) have set up practice areas where you can experiment with the
tools.

Wikis in Learning

Wikis can be used in many ways in learning. The key to effective wiki use with all ages is understanding the collaborative
nature of wikis. Young people in particular need to understand the fluid nature of wikis. They also need to be aware that
since anyone can participate, not all information will be of equal quality.

Fact-checking is a critical component of wiki development. Wiki developers should cite their work and provide supporting
evidence for their statements. Wiki users should cross-reference their information using a variety of credible sources.

Listen to Wikipedia to Require Contributors to Register from NPR (December 6, 2005).

Read Using Wikis in Schools: A Case Study (PDF) by Lyndsay Grant, (May 2006).

Read Wikis by Laurel A. Clyde in Teacher Librarian (Volume 32, Number 4, April 2005).

Some possibilities include:

Collaborative Problem Solving. Wikis provide an environment for groups to share their understandings and come to
concensus. The wiki can be used to generate lists, narrow topics, outline options, debate issues, make suggestions, and even
vote.
 ● What Does It Mean To Be Australian? - middle school students (check Graham Wegner's teacher blog too; read his
reflecting on wikis with children)

Collaborative Research. Whether working simultaneously on a project or over a multiple semesters, researchers can collate
and share their data using a wiki.

● Studying Societies at JHK - year-long project

Collaborative Writing. Wikis are often used for collaborative authorship. In other words, a group of people get together
with a specific final product in mind such as writing an article or letter; editing a book, guide, manual, glossary; or creating a
knowledge base.

● Rhetoric and Composition - open-source textbook

● Second Life Wiki - user guide
● Wikipedia - a free encylopedia anyone can edit
● WikiTravel - a free, up-to-date, reliable world-wide travel guide

Dynamic Journal or Notebook. Wiki software can be used to organize notes, ideas, and brainstorms. It's a great tool for a
book club, study group, or club to organize information. Although generally thought of as a collaborative tool, single-user
wikis are a way to collect, organize, and reflect on one person's ideas. The activity is focused on recording ideas and process
rather than coming up with a final product.

Electronic Portfolio. Some wikis are used to for collecting and organizing resources for an electronic portfolio. A wiki is an
effective tool for this activity because it allows a learner to constantly select and update materials.

Portal. A portal is designed to be "the" starting point for a particular topic or subject. In wikipedia, the refer to "main pages"
on topics or area. Originally, portals led people to other resources, but they are increasingly being designed as wikis and
contain original information. They are an opportunity for scholars and others to work collaboratively to help people see the
"big picture" of a topic and how it connects to related to related fields such as arts, biography, geography, history,
mathematics, science, society, and technology.

● Portal: Food
● Portal: Rhetoric
● Portal: Scouting
● Portal: Trains
● For more, see the Portal/Directory

Resource Aggregator. Like a bibliography, mediagraphy, or pathfinder, a wiki can be used to organize links to websites,
blogs, and other electronic materials.

Study Guide. A wiki is a great tools for creating a collaborative study guide.

● Frankenstein - notice the links on the lower left to links, letters, and chapters

Virtual Conference. Rather than meeting face-to-face, wikis can be used to share resources as part of a virtual conference
activity. Because most wikis allow uploading of files, these conference wikis can hold documents, visuals, audio, and video
materials. Explore a Wiki Conference lesson plan.

Wikis are becoming a popular tool in learning because they involve high-level thinking and information skills.
Collaborative Learning. Wikis allow learners to participate in a project larger than themselves. Participants are able to learn
from each other and expand their thinking about a topic by working as a team. In addition, it's easy to go back and track who,
did what, when.

Inquiry. Wikis involve learners in asking increasingly sophisticated questions related to their topic. After the initial
excitement about the topic and exploration of essential questions, learners begin to assimilate new information and draw
inferences. This leads to reflection and additional questions. This recursive process leads to increasing complex questions,
more indepth analysis, and deeper understandings. These abstract connections can be made more concrete for learners
through the creation of wikis. Features such as hyperlinks allow contributors to share their mental linkages among pieces of
information.

Information Organization. Wikis encourage learners to think about how information can be organized to maximize
understanding. For example, wikis can use alphabetical, chronological, hierarchical, geographical, or thematic approaches.
Some people use outlines or visual maps (i.e., cluster map, flowchart, mindmap) for organization. Others design around
regional locations, events, characters, key words, genre, categories, or other ways of thinking about a topic. Another
approach is to focus organization around essential questions or problems.

Read Embrace the Wiki Way! by Matt Barton.

Read Uses and Potentials of Wikis in the Classroom by S. Pixy Ferris and Hilary Wilder in Innovate: Journal of
Online Education, Volume 2, Issue 5, June/July 2006. (You'll need to create a free login to access this article).

Listen to EDUCAUSE Pocket Edition #6: Uses of Wikis focusing on college level applications of wikis.

Successful Wikis

What makes a successful wiki?

Unique Content. Why recreate the Web? The key to a successful wiki is identifying and filling a niche need. What can you
create or organize that isn't available elsewhere? For example, create a wiki based on one of the following topics:

● a small town or community without a website

● an interesting historical building, location, or event
● a lesser-known, regional, or noteworthy person
● oral histories or memories of a particular shared experience/event that may have been overlooked by other websites
(don't do 911 or WWII)
● an invented world or fictional work
● thematic resource for literature circle or book club with an unusual or unique focus (don't do topics that are
overworked or already covered elsewhere)

Structure. Your project will quickly fizzle without good organization. An effective wiki makes good use of hyperlinks to
connect information and ideas. Rather than one long page or a series of unrelated web pages, a quality wiki provides an
intuitive way to explore information. One idea is linked to another so that people can see the forest and the trees.

● How will you help people see the "big picture" but also understand all the connected elements?
● How can you tell your story or share your information in an appealing, organized way?
● How can you develop a consistent structure through agreed upon guidelines?
● How do maximize the number of people contributing to the wiki but still maintain a sense of shared voice?
Flexibility. A well-designed wiki has both structure and flexibility. Avoid starting a wiki with all the information in place. If
it's complete, then why not just create web pages? One of the best things about wikis is their versatility. If you have
incomplete information or the beginning of an idea, it's viewed by the wiki community as an opportunity for another
participant to contribute rather than a defeat. Although structure is important, it must be balanced with the opportunity to
expand and dig deeper into the content.

Synergy. When a group of people work together toward a joint goal, the result is often bigger and better than when people
work independently. Although wikis work fine with just a few people, larger projects require more committment by
individual group members or a larger writing pool. Consider expanding your contributors by inviting some of the following
people to join projects:

● Students from different class periods, schools, or countries

● People of different ages including both young people and older people
● People with varied perspectives, experiences, or points of view on a topic
● People from different geographic areas
● People from varied cultures
● People with different academic fields

Enthusiasm. Whether you're engaging teen learners in a class project or patrons in a community project, it's important that
the project maintain a high energy level. Participants need to be passionate about the content or the project will quickly
become a chore rather than a quest for knowledge. One way to maintain enthusiasm is through questioning. Consider some
of the following questions as you worth through your wiki project:

● What questions do we have about this topic?

● What do we still need to learn?
● Where can we go to collect more information?
● What can we create ourselves?
● What are different ways we can tell our story or share our information through text, visuals, audio, or other modes
of communication?
● How can we refine or expand what we have?

Check out a few examples of wikis created during previous semesters. Would you consider these wikis successful? Why or
why not?

● Chocolate Books
● Historical Theatres of Indiana
● Historical Preservation
● Hoosier Music
● Hoosier Round Barns
● Indiana Artists

Wiki Issues

Although wikis can be great tools for learning, they also face some serious issues related to use.

Wiki and Ads. When using wikis with young people, consider using a website without advertising. Ads can be distracting
and sometimes link to inappropriate sites for young people.

Wikis and Spam. Like all open access environments, wikis are subject to abuse from marketers and vandals. A major hassle
for wiki creators is spam. Wikispam is defined as external links placed in a wiki to raise Google rankings or for advertising
purposes.
 Read A Brilliant Failure: Wikis in Classrooms, a blog posting with comments on issues of using wikis for learning.

Read Are Wiki's Inherently Flawed? by Will Thalheimer.

Wiki Tools for Librarians and Educators

Many free and inexpensive wiki services, sometimes known as WikiFarms, can be found online. In many cases, the free
services contain advertising. Some wikis are stand-alone wikis and others are built into other services such as blogs and
course management systems. Use the WikiMatrix for comparisons of wikitools and wikisoftware. Some examples include:

● JotSpot (no ads; free for 5 users, 10 pages, 5MB file size, 100MB space)
● Nexdo (free for 5 users; 10MB server space per team)
● PBWiki (free for Google ad-based, 10MB)
❍ Check out an example created for Teasdale, Utah.

● SeedWiki (no ads; free users, pages, limited access to page stats)
● Wikispaces (free for educators with edublog; 2GB+)

As an edublog user, you're eligible for a wiki at wikispaces. Go to the Wikispaces Teacher Page. This will ensure you get
a wiki without ads. Following the last few pages of the Wikis in Teaching and Learning (PDF) handout by Annette Lamb for
help.

Wiki Software

If you have control over your web server, you can install your own wiki-based system for constructing collaborative
websites. Go to Wiki Engines or Top Ten Wiki Engines for a master list of software organized by programming language.
Some options are listed below (GPL standards for software offered under the General Public License):

● MediaWiki (GPL) - used by wikipedia; intended for large scale projects

● MoinMoin (GPL) - uses Python
● Php Wiki (GPL) - uses PHP
● PmWiki (GPL)
● TikiWiki (LGPL)

Other Collaborative and Social Technology Projects

Folksonomy involves collaboratively created labels or tags that categorize web content such as photos and web pages. It's
used by many of the social bookmarking sites as well as another online communities that create user-generated content.
Explore other services that use tag technology.

● Bookmarking
❍ Blinklist

❍ Del.icio.us (eduscapes example)

❍ De.lirio.us

❍ Furl

❍ Ma.gnolia.com

❍ MyWeb 2.0 from Yahoo

 ❍ Reddit
❍ Scuttle - you can Scuttle install this one on your own server

❍ Simpy

❍ Spurl

● Calendar (Reviews at SLJ)

❍ Assignaday (free) - education-focused

❍ Google Calendar

❍ Scholastic Calendar (free) - education-focused

❍ Yahoo Calendar (free)

● Content and Idea Sharing and Multiple Tools

❍ 43 Things

❍ Digg

❍ Jot (wiki, documents, calendars, spreadsheets)

❍ Suprglu - Infomancer's Notebook

● Map
❍ Frappr! Groups - maps, chat, and photos for online communities (great for collaborative student projects);

check out brune

● Photo Sharing
❍ Flickr - ADA Community Library, ALA TechSource, Buckham Memorial Library, Hennepin County

Library, Newport Public Library, SC Libraries. Go to Flickr and do a search for school library or public
library.
❍ iStockPhoto - a place to sell your photos or find inexpensive photos

● Search Engine Collaborative

❍ Swicki (search engine that learns from your community's search behavior)

● Surveys
❍ Survey Monkey

● Video Sharing
❍ Google Video

❍ YouTube

● Publishing
❍ Lulu

Learn More

If you're interested in more depth on the topic of Collaborative Technology and wikis, explore the following resources:

7 Things You Should Know About Wikis

Cunningham, Ward & Leuf, Bo (2005). The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web, Addison-Wesley. ISBN
020171499X

Ferris, S. Pixy & Wilder, Hilary (June/July 2006). Uses and Potentials of Wikis in the Classroom. Innovate: Journal of
Online Education, Volume 2, Issue 5.

Fountain, Renee (2005). Wiki Pedagogy. Dossiers Technopedagogiques. Higdon, Jude (2006). Pedagogies of Wikis (PDF).

Goodwin-Jones, Bob (May 2003). Emerging Technologies: Blogs and Wikis: Environments for On-line Collaboration.
Language Learning & Technology. Volume 7, Number 2, pp. 12-16.

Lamb, Brian (September/October 2004). Wide Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready or Not. EDUCAUSE Review. Volume 39,
 Number 5, 36-48.

Richardson, Will (2006). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, Corwin Press. ISBN
1412927676

Seeley, Rich (August 3, 2006). Campuses Make Way for the Worldwide Wiki. Campus Technology.

Tonkin, Emma (January 2005). Making the Case for a Wiki. Ariadne. Issue 42.

Wikis in Collaborative Learning Environments

WikiRadio - lots of audio-based information about wikis

Links to the materials in this section can be found in the navigation bar on the left side of this page. Continue to the
Learning Spaces: Social Network & Virtual Worlds page.

● HOME
● COURSE MATERIALS
●

● HIGH TECH LEARNING

● TOOLS
● LEARNING SPACES
● email
● forums
● blogs
● virtual conferencing
● collaborative web/wikis
● social networks
● course management systems
● desktop spaces
● interactives

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Creativity Tools:
Creativity Resources on the Web

A growing number of creativity tools are available online. These tools are
often available at no cost and can be accessed anywhere, anytime. However
keep in mind that because the resources are free, they may not be available
forever. Always has a "back up" plan when using online resources.

Read about the following interactive, social, and collaborative creativity tools
on this page.

Interactive Tools

Paint brushes, virtual pianos, mind maps, and graph makers are just a few of the tools available online. Most of these tools
are designed specifically for young people and are easy to use.

Go to the following online interactive tools related to art and have some fun: Artist's Tool Kit, BBC Art Box, CBBC Art,
Cloud Dreamer, Create a Sculpture, Destination Modern Art, Hands-on Crafts, Make Your Own Art, NGA Kids, Professor
Garfield ArtBot, Red Studio.

Go to the following online interactive tools related to music and have some fun: Arizona Opera, Arts Alive, CBeebies Sing a
Song, Freaky Frank's Music Machine, Making Tracks, Professor Garfield MusicBot, Dallas Symphony, San Francisco
Symphony, Thumb Piano, and New York Philharmonic.

Go to the following online interactive tools related to writing and have some fun: Imaginary City, Book Report Sandwich
Station, and ReadWriteThink tools.

Go to the following online interactive tools related to math and have some fun: Analog Clock, Create a Graph, Grapher,
Fraction Paint, Heads or Tails, and Super Sequencer.

Social Tools

During the past several years, a growing number of social technologies has been introduced. These resources allow users to
share text, graphics, audio, video, and animations with the world. People from around the world can then make comments
and seek personal connections. Although these are wonderful tools, it's important to help young people make wise decisions
about their use. In particular, it's easy for teens to get caught up in using tools such as MySpace which is designed for adult
users.

Encourage young people to explore social networks designed for their age groups. For example, Second Life Teens is one of
a growing number of virtual worlds for teens.

Seek ways to use these tools in productive ways. For example, students at Barrett Elementary School post creative projects
on their blog. You can see their drawings, read their writing, and watch their videos online.
 Explore other examples of how young people are using blogs in learning:

● Student Reflections on Night by Elie Wiesel

Collaborative Tools

Online tools are available for writing, calculating, creating concept maps, and many other activities. Most of these tools are
easy enough for young people to use.

Google's Docs & Spreadsheets are collaborative tools for writing and calculating.

Thinkature is a tool for creating collaborative concept maps.

Wikispaces is an online tool for creating wikis. These collaborative web-building environments are a great place for students
to work on building original, collaborative projects.

Read the following materials related to creativity tools on the web:

● Web Publishing from Teacher Tap

● Web Tools and Builders from Teacher Tap
● Electronic Postcards from Teacher Tap

● HOME
● COURSE MATERIALS
●

● INTRODUCTION
● INFORMATIONAL
● INSTRUCTIONAL
●

● CREATIVITY
● disc resources
● web resources
●

publishing
●

tools
●

e-postcards
●

● MANAGEMENT

| eduscapes | IUPUI Online Courses | Teacher Tap | 42explore | escrapbooking | About Us | Contact Us | ©2006 Annette Lamb and
Larry Johnson
Technology Tutorials for Teachers
Where can I learn how to use Dreamweaver?
How do I integrate word processing into my classroom?

Where can I find technology tips?

Why reinvent the wheel? You can find technology tutorials on many
topics on the Internet. Check out the many choices below:

Technology How-Tos - Popular Starting Points

● 4teachers.org - Links to technology tutorial resources

● Tech Alongs - 4Teachers
● The Buddy Project
● Learn the Net
● Technology Snacks - PDF files
● Online Technology Tutorials - links page
● Tutorials Links
● Popular Topics in Teaching and Learning
● MacInstruct
● Teach-nology
● Web Monkey - Web Developer's Resources
● Beginners Tutorials - Computer topics
● Eduhound Tutorial Links
● WebTeacher
● Electric Teacher
 ● Tech Tutorials
● Educational Software Tutorials
● Tutorials on the Web

Technology How-Tos - Educator Pages

● Richland Clicks Technology How Tos and Presentations

❍ Publishing with Publisher Manual

● Utah Education Network

● Link to Learn Technology Tutorials
● Shareware between Macs and PCs
● Online Learning Modules - Memphis
● Online Technology Tutorials - More Memphis
● Upper Arlington City Schools
● CBC for Kids Tech Tips
● STC Professional Development - scroll down to the "how tos"
● Tips and Tricks by Emmie - PDF files
● Online Tutorials - links page
● Internet4Classrooms - Links
● Internet4Classrooms - Applications Tutorials
● Internet4Classrooms - Techie Tutorials
● Software and Technology Tutorials
● Tutorials and Lessons - Jefferson County CO
● Land Grant Training Alliance
● Teach Tech Tutorials
● Technology Ideas for Young Children
● Computers for Lunch

General Online Learning Websites

● Learn2.com
● Free Skills
● LearnFree.com
● Free Tutorials.com

Microsoft Products Tutorials

● Microsoft in Education
● Office Tips for Teachers
● Office 2000
● Outlook Express
● Front Page Tutorial
● Front Page 2000
● Front Page Tutorial
● Front Page Resources
● Microsoft Office - Using Microsoft PowerPoint
● PowerPoint in the Classroom
● PowerPoint Tutorial

Presentation Tutorials

● Presenters Online
● Presenting Effective Presentations
● Presentation Planning
 Adobe Products Tutorials

● Adobe Tutorials

Macromedia Products Tutorials

● Dreamweaver
● Fireworks
● Director

KidPix Tutorials

● KidPix
● Marilee's KidWorks and KidPix Page

Tom Snyder Productions Tutorials

● Tom Snyder Productions

● Timeliner

Try a Tutorial

Follow the instructions at one of the tutorials above.

Compare and contrast tutorials from different websites.

● HOME
● TECH & LEARNING
● INTERNET RESOURCES
● LIBRARIES & LITERACY
● TECH TOOLS

| eduscapes | IUPUI Online Courses | 42explore | escrapbooking | About Us | Contact Us | © 2000, 2007
Larry Johnson & Annette Lamb
Integrating the Best of Web 2.0 in the School Library Media
Program

From blogs and podcasts to wikis and virtual worlds, everyone's

talking about the dynamic technology tools and resources
available to educators and students. Let's separate the hype from
what's realistic, relevant and practical for your library media
program. What's effective, efficient, and appealing? What's just a
fad? How do these technologies mesh with information and
content standards?

This workshop explores the possibilities and potential for using social, collaborative, and interactive
technologies across the curriculum. From online book clubs and virtual literature circles to local history
wikis and personal, information inquiry blogs, you'll find dozens of practical ideas to enrich your school
library media program.

For more ideas, go to the workshop School Library Media Specialist 2.0.

Web 2.0 and Social Technology

Where's the good stuff?

What's useful for young people?
What applies to school environments?

Technology has played a role in teaching and learning for many years. For
example, you might start by reading the book Mosquito Bite by Alexandra
Siy and Dennis Kunkel. Students might then use a digital camera and
software such as PowerPoint or Word to write their own story. In the last
decade, the web has played an increasing role in technology-rich learning.
Students might access online images of microscopic worlds and combine
them with their own photographs. Some examples include:

● Dennis Kunkel Microscopy - Education

● Most Wanted Bugs
● Molecular Expressions
● Scanning Electronic Microscopy

The introduction of Web 2.0 technology allows students to reach beyond the classroom. For example, they
might take their own microscopic photographs and submit them to the Small World Photography contest.
Or, create a blog like Micro Images Blog that allows students to comment on the work of others.
Smithsonian Encyclopedia of Life is a collaborative project by the US National Museum of Natural History
to document the earth's diversity by scientists and citizens of Earth described by E.O. Wilson in The
Creation. A related project is Consortium for the Barcode of Life. Check out the Barcode Blog.

Examples of Web 2.0 Applications:

● Pandora - music site that learns what you like

Brainstorm!
What features of Web 2.0 have potential in making information more accessible? Envision a "far
out" application of Web 2.0 in information, teaching, or learning.

What are the features of Web 2.0 that have potential for teaching and learning? Discuss how a
traditional activity could be expanded using Web 2.0 technology.

Let's explore five practical projects made easy through Web 2.0:

● Social Networks
● Sharing and Syndication
● Collaboration
● Cool Tools

Social Networks

Social networks are virtual spaces where people of all ages can make contacts, share information and
ideas, and build a sense of community. Like all technologies, they are built with tools that can serve many
purposes. They generally have three elements: a specific audience (i.e., adults, sports fans, librarians), a
theme (i.e., music, dating), and a structure (i.e., virtual world, profile screens).

What's a social technology?

● Profiles and identities used in establishing contacts

● Posting tools such as blogs, forums, and wikis
● Communication tools such as internal email for sharing
● Collaborative areas for building, creating, interacting
● Navigation tools for moving around the network or world
● Options for sending and receiving feedback from others
● Search tools for identifying those with similar interests

Let's say children are reading the book Mud Soup by Judith Head. Students might
all contribute a recipe to the project at the AllRecipes website. By tagging their
recipe, they can search and find other recipes with the same ingredients or the same
cultural background. They can become part of the global community, get parents and
the local community involved, or simply share within a "private recipe box" area. This
is also a tool that might get teachers excited about social networks if they've only
heard about services like MySpace or other general friendship networks.
Examples

1. People Connections: MySpace and Facebook - TeenLit, YA Book Discussions

2. Collections Connections: Library Thing - Children's Literature, Made Into Movie, All Consuming
3. Professional Connections: EducationBridges.net
4. Virtual Worlds: Whyville, Second Life and Second Life Teens
5. Course Management Systems - Moodle - escrapbooking moodle

Practical Projects

1. Virtual Book Clubs - Library Thing Book Discussions

2. Virtual Conferences and Get Togethers - Campfire Discussions
3. Simulated Worlds - International Space Station, Mayan Ruins in Second Life
4. Virtual Library Services - Homework help, virtual library services
5. Support Services - Connecting students with special needs, gifted, talented, exchanges

Advice

1. Create strict guidelines for use in terms of personal information.

2. Focus on a specific learning outcome.
3. Be sure you have the bandwidth before using 3D virtual worlds like Second Life.
4. Select an ad-free service.
5. Install software on your own service to restrict access.

Learn more at High Tech Learning: Social Networks.

Brainstorm!
What's the potential of social networks for teaching and learning? What are the
misperceptions? What skills do young people need to make effective use of social networks as
information and communication sources? What do you say to people who think ALL social
networks should be banned for young people?

Sharing and Syndication

From email and forums to blogs and podcasts, there are many ways for young people to share their
understandings and interact with others. Get teachers interested through family oriented sharing services
such as digitial photo sharing. For example, MyFamily is a popular subscription service that allows families
to share calendars, events, genealogy, photos, and family memories.

Remember that you don't need to use high-tech tools. Use practical, content connected services such as
the USGS earthquake notification email and the PBS NewHour Extra Global Kids project current events
discussions.

Why is sharing and syndication important?

1. Encourages non-traditional assignments

2. Provides an authentic audience
3. Promotes polished products
 4. Allows feedback beyond the teacher
5. Enable parent and community involvement

It's easy to become overwhelmed by the information found in blogs, audioblogs, or vlogs. Most regular
readers and listeners use a news aggregator and RSS feeds to help them manage their favorite resources.
RSS stands for Really Simply Syndication (RSS).

For an example of a feed reader, check out bloglines and the example eduscapes bloglines.

Learn more about RSS feeds and syndication at Information Architecture for the Web: Syndication and
High Tech Learning: RSS

Brainstorm!
How could an RSS feed reader be used to organize content for a specific topic or subject area?
What content areas would benefit most? Least?

Blogs

Blogs are web logs that arrange postings (i.e., text, graphics, audio, video entries) in reverse chronological
order. They also provide syndication of the postings so others can subscribe to the feed. Tags are used so
postings can be categorized and searched.

Examples

1. Duck Diaries
2. Mabry Middle School Library Blog and Washington Middle School Library, Seattle
3. The Reading Room
4. Ron Hirschi Visits Eastview Elementary
5. The Secret Life of Bees

Practical Projects

1. Personal inquiry blog (i.e, trace the steps in the inquiry process such as Big 6; follow a science
experiment; track a local or global event; share experiences)
2. News blog (i.e., new books, upcoming events, sports results, polls, interviews, this day in local
history, then and now)
3. Creative works (i.e., poems, poetry, reports, drawings, comics, reporting)
4. Problems and Solutions (i.e., math mysteries, alternative endings, brainstorm ideas, interact with
an expert, debate, critique)
5. Highlight content (i.e., feature books, scientific events, vocabulary, historical events timeline,
student projects)

Advice

1. Identify a specific goal and audience for your blog. Consider the role of postings and comments.
2. Begin with closed projects involving password access. More toward more open environments.
3. Stick to project-based blogs that don't require on-going support.
4. Involve students in all aspects of the blog.
5. Take a standards-based approach to assignments and assessments associated with the blog.
Tools

● Websites: Blogger, Edublogs, Class Blogmeister, Gaggle (subscription), Epals (subscription)

● Server Software: Word Press (open source)

Learn more at Escrapbooking: Blogging or High Tech Learning: Blogging.

Brainstorm!
What advice would you give to student bloggers? Create a list of guidelines for evaluating
student postings or comments to a blog. What makes a quality student posting? Why? How do
the expectations change as students mature as bloggers?

Audio Sharing and Podcasts

Audio sharing involves adding sound content to the web. Audioblogs and podcasts involve adding a
syndication component such as an RSS so users can subscribe to the audio. Tags are used so audio files
can be categorized and searched.

Examples

1. Grandview Library Blog

2. High School Biology Blog with podcast
3. Mrs. Bradley and Mrs. Mendoza's Class - text, audio, and video blog
4. Radio Willow - Colonial Days
5. TechTime with Mr. S - check out the library book talk podcast

Practical Projects

1. Advertisements (i.e., books, countries, local attractions)

2. Interviews (i.e., oral history, careers, expert interviews, local officials)
3. Creative Works (i.e., poetry, short stories, skits, plays)
4. Step-by-Step (i.e., directions, instructions, recipes)
5. Web Radio (i.e., news, special events, sports)

Advice

1. Keep sounds files 30 seconds to 3 minutes.

2. Script the projects.
3. Use alternating voices
4. Create a box of items that can be used for sound effects
5. Play stock music on a portable CD player to avoid audio mixing.

Tools

● Microphone: Built-in to computer, portable device like iPod, external microphone

● Audio editing: Audacity (open source, free)
 ● Free Sound Sources: OpenMedia

Learn more at High Tech learning: Audioblogging and Podcasting and High Tech Learning: Sounds.

Brainstorm!
Generate a list of at least a dozen student assignments involving the creation of short audios.
Also consider how other media could be used along with the audio such as text, charts/graphs,
books, primary source documents, real objects, maps, photographs, and other materials.

Video Sharing and Vodcasts

Video sharing involves adding video content to the web. Videoblogs and vodcasts involve adding a
syndication component such as an RSS so users can subscribe to the video. Tags are used so video files
can be categorized and searched.

Social networks like YouTube and Google Video provide a way to share and locate videos. User created
tags allow people to easily search for videos (i.e., school library, public service announcements). Keep in
mind that although you can tag items as inappropriate, anyone can share anything. You can create playlists
so you can quickly get to the links you wish to share. Consider sharing examples on a large screen. As you
explore YouTube, go to the Community section to find contests to join. Even if students don't access the
contest, you can use the guidelines. If you have trouble accessing these services, try Schooltube and
Teachertube.

If your filter doesn't allow access to YouTube or if you're concerned about outside access to videos, then
create your own "SchoolTube" area for sharing videos. Students can upload videos and link them to a
video blog created in blogger or other blogging software. Consider installing Word Press on your own
server. Use tags and categories to organize student work.

Examples

1. IPS Bradley - Physical Science Class

2. Apple Student Gallery
3. Oklahoma Media Festival
4. Mabry Film Festival - Best Picture Nominees
5. Digitales: The Art of Telling Digital Stories - Check out the StoryKeepers' Gallery

Practical Projects

1. Book Advertisements/Trailers (i.e., Invitation to the Game, Prey, The Squire and the Scroll)
2. Public Service Announcements (i.e., service learning, health issues, promotions @the library)
3. Special Events (i.e., Dicken MLK Day event, debate, interviews, National Youth Poetry Slam)
4. Creative Works (i.e., skits, historical re-enactments, puppet show)
5. Demonstrations (i.e., Water Science Experiments, Mixture Analysis )

Advice

1. Start by exploring and critiquing the work of others.

 2. Create a tight script and use a student narrator for the best quality production.
3. Use a tripod.
4. Limit length to 30 second to 3 minute movie.
5. Use what you have: cell phones, still cameras, computer cameras (puppet shows)

Tools

● Camera: Digital video camera, digital camera, cell phone, computer camera
● Video Editing: Mac iMovie, Windows MovieMaker, Adobe Premiere
● Video Storage: Blip.tv (free), Google Video (free), YouTube (free, lots of ads), OpenMediaNetwork
(free; good choice for long-term public hosting space), OurMedia (free), Videoegg (free), Vimeo
(free)

Learn more at High Tech Learning: Video Sharing and High Tech Learning: Video.

Learn more at iSight in the Classroom: Lessons and iSight Ed.

Brainstorm!
Create a list of issues in creating, storing, and using video. What are the keys to successful
projects and programs?

Try It!
Let's make a puppet show using a still camera, cell phone camera, or computer camera!
On your Mac, open iMovie. Click the mode switch to set iMovie HD to built-in camera mode.
Click the camera icon and choose Built-In iSight from the menu. Click the "Record" button to
record. Click again to stop. Edit and save your movie.

Collaboration

Collaborative technologies are generally web-based tools that involve two or more people working together
in a virtual environment to create something greater than could be build independently. Rather than simply
viewing existing information, emphasis may be placed on authoring content. These environments may be
predominately text-based or may incorporate audio, video, and animation.

Although we talk a lot about collaboration, our students really don't truly create synergy. Instead they tend
to work as teams and assign separate roles.

Collaboration involves cooperation, interdependence, and synergy. For example, individuals, classes, or
clubs at different points along an earthquake fault might analyze the ground movement and share their
findings on a wiki.

Or, they may share their animal tracking data regarding big horn sheep. It would be impossible for one
person to collect all this data independently, but by working together they have more data for research and
learning.

In another example, the local historical society would like to create a history of the town. They invite anyone
who has lived in the area to share facts and figures, along with their insights and experiences. The resulting
wiki contains multiple perspectives that would probably have been missed if the project had been created
by an individual or small group.

Why is virtual collaboration important?

1. Develops essential life skills

2. Allows for differentiation and cross grade assignments
3. Promotes synthesis, creation, and evaluation skills
4. Encourages synergy
5. Enables access to work 24/7

Brainstorm!
Discuss the skills involved in learning to work as a collaborative group. What kinds of
assignments could strengthen specific collaboration skills?

Wikis

Many tools can be used for collaborative creation and maintenance of websites. Wiki-based systems are
popular because they are simple to install and contributors don't need special software.

A wiki is a type of website that uses "open editing" collaborative software technology to provide an easy
way for multiple participants to enter, submit, manage, and update a single web workspace. Users make
changes by selecting from options and filling in forms on a web page. Authorized users can add and delete
links, pages, and content. In some cases, a moderator approves changes before they are posted. Some
wikis also provide a way to track changes and view earlier versions of pages.

Examples

1. Wikipedia, Wikimedia, Wikibooks, Wikijunior, Wikia, WikiTravel

2. Third Grade Wikis from Grandview Library (under development)
3. Student Projects - The Wright 3
4. Literature - A Wiki of Unfortunate Events: Lemony Snicket (About), IPL's Teen Poetry Wiki
5. SciFi/Fantasy - Redwall Wiki, SciFi/Fantasy Wiki, StarBase 118

For many more ideas, go to Wiki World and ReadWriteWiki.

Practical Projects

1. Book or literature circle (i.e., Chocolate Books)

2. Local or state interest (i.e., historical building, location, event, noteworthy person, oral history,
Indiana (Historical Theatres of Indiana, Historical Preservation, Hoosier Music, Hoosier Round
Barns, Indiana Artists)
3. Creative works (i.e., choose your own adventures, invented world, poetry, short stories, artwork,
step-by-step instructions)
4. Comparisons (i.e., then/now, what ifs, local/national/global parallel timelines, pros/cons, issues
and perspectives, compare companies)
5. Evaluations (i.e., critical reviews, analysis of a company)

Advice
 1. Unique Content. Why recreate the Web? Focus on a unique topic to avoid "copy and paste" issues
2. Structure. An effective wiki makes good use of hyperlinks to connect information and ideas. One
idea is linked to another so that people can see the forest and the trees.
3. Flexibility. Avoid starting a wiki with all the information in place. If it's complete, then why not just
create web pages? Although structure is important, it must be balanced with the opportunity to
expand and dig deeper into the content. Make use of the HISTORY option where you can trace
each student addition.
4. Synergy. When a group of people work together toward a joint goal, the result is often bigger and
better than when people work independently. Although wikis work fine with just a few people, larger
projects require more committment by individual group members or a larger writing pool. Consider
expanding your contributors by inviting some of the following people to join projects: different class
periods, schools, or countries, different ages, varied perspective, different geographic areas, varied
cultures, different academic fields.
5. Enthusiasm. Participants need to be passionate about the content or the project will quickly
become a chore rather than a quest for knowledge. One way to maintain enthusiasm is through
questioning. Consider some of the following questions as you worth through your wiki project:
❍ What questions do we have about this topic?

❍ What do we still need to learn?

❍ Where can we go to collect more information?

❍ What can we create ourselves?

❍ What are different ways we can tell our story or share our information through text, visuals,

audio, or other modes of communication?

❍ How can we refine or expand what we have?

Tools

● Wikispaces Teacher Page (MY FAVORITE)

● JotSpot (no ads; free for 5 users, 10 pages, 5MB file size, 100MB space)
● Nexdo (free for 5 users; 10MB server space per team)
● PBWiki (free for Google ad-based, 10MB)
❍ Check out an example created for Teasdale, Utah.

● SeedWiki (no ads; free users, pages, limited access to page stats)

Learn more at High Tech Learning: Collaborative Web and Wikis.

Brainstorm!
Where is there a need for quality information? Brainstorm ideas for a book wiki, literature circle
wiki, or local history wiki. Or select your own topic. Discuss categories, organization, and
interrelationships among information. Create a concept map showing potential content.

Collaborative Workspaces

Although we'll be focusing primarily on wikis, there are many other collaborative tools such as shared
documents, concept maps, presentations, whiteboards, and spreadsheets. For instance, Elgg is a
collaborative community for educators including blogs, as well as social and collaborative spaces.

Examples

1. Concept Maps - Gliffy and Bubbl

2. Concept Maps - Thinkature
3. Word Processing - Google Docs
 4. Spreadsheets - Google Docs
5. Overall Services - 37 Signals - basics are free

Practical Projects

1. Brainstorming
2. Build Consensus
3. Project Planning
4. Joint Report
5. Creative Works

Advice

1. Long Term Storage. When you don't control your web server, it's possible to lose the documents if
the service fails. Be sure to have a backup system. Also, be certain to check on copyright issues
related to ownership of workspace documents.
2. Technical Issues. Collaborative spaces can be hampered by slow bandwidth, problems with
refreshing screens caused by proxy servers, and other issues. Consider writing in a word processor
and copying into the web-based document.
3. Tracking Use. One of the benefits of collaborative workspaces is the ability to track student work.
Check whether the system maintains a history, archives drafts, and traces individual users.
4. Assignments and Assessments. Provide clear student expectations.
5. Guidelines. Be certain students understand the philosophy of collaboration and the role of
individuals in a collaborative work group.

Tools

There are also many shared text editors, website editors, and project collaboration tools. Here are a few
examples of web-based tools that facilitate collaboration:

● 37 Signals - basics are free

❍ Basecamp - project collaboration

❍ Backpack - organize information

❍ Campfire - group chat

❍ Ta-da List - group lists

❍ Writeboard - free, sharable, web-based text documents

● InstaColl - software to partner and share Office documents

● MoonEdit - multiplatform collaborative text editor
● Vox - share text, graphics, audio, video, and more
● WetPaint - combines forums, wikis, and website building

Learn more at High Tech Learning: Collaborative Web.

Brainstorm!
List the types of activities that involve collaboration. What kinds of tools are needed for these
types of activities?

Web 2.0 Cool Tools

There are lots of other cool tools that make super use of Web 2.0 technology.

Examples

1. Alternative Search Engines: Clusty, Grokker

2. Mapping Tools: Frappr! Groups (frune), Google Earth, Google Maps
3. Survey Instruments: Survey Monkey, Web Poll from Bravenet,
4. Planning Tools: 4teachers, CHNM
5. Interactives: Flash

Tools

● General Tools
❍ Bravenet

❍ Center for History

● Bookmarking
❍ Blinklist

❍ Del.icio.us (eduscapes example)

❍ De.lirio.us

❍ Furl

❍ Ma.gnolia.com

❍ MyWeb 2.0 from Yahoo

❍ Reddit

❍ Scuttle - you can Scuttle install this one on your own server

❍ Simpy

❍ Spurl

● Calendar (Reviews at SLJ)

❍ Assignaday (free) - education-focused

❍ Google Calendar

❍ Scholastic Calendar (free) - education-focused

❍ Yahoo Calendar (free)

● Content and Idea Sharing and Multiple Tools

❍ 43 Things

❍ Digg

❍ Jot (wiki, documents, calendars, spreadsheets)

❍ Suprglu - Infomancer's Notebook

● Photo Sharing
❍ Flickr - ADA Community Library, ALA TechSource, Buckham Memorial Library, Hennepin

County Library, Newport Public Library, SC Libraries. Go to Flickr and do a search for
school library or public library.
❍ iStockPhoto - a place to sell your photos or find inexpensive photos

● Search Engine Collaborative

❍ Swicki (search engine that learns from your community's search behavior)

● Publishing
❍ Lulu

Put It All Together

Combine the Best of Traditional and New Technology

● Escrapbooking: Comics
● MakeBeliefsComix - Online comic maker
● Hypercomics

The Author's website includes book excerpts and a blog.

● Going Graphic Lesson Plan American Born Chinese

Conclusion

As you explore the possibilities:

● Connect old and new technologies and resources

● Engage young thinkers
● Teach responsible use of Web 2.0 technology

Developed by Annette Lamb, 2/07.