Top 10 free web 2.0 sites for educators

And one more thing, here is a nice list of the top 10 free web 2.0 sites for educators. This is a good starting point to get a sense of what's out there, what is being done, and what can be done.

We've got to start somewhere.

Are we ready for the next move?

Ok, Tom. You put it out there and I think I'm willing to throw in my thoughts about what we need to do, at BHS, to make the next move.

First of all, it has to be more than just you and me playing around with a blog. And if we are serious about that REAL change we both know is coming, then we have to be willing to REALLY change what we do. Other teachers have to join us in a concerted effort to blog regularly and use the same Web 2.0 tools in our classrooms. That's going to take time.

You are familiar with Karl Fisch's blog (the What If? guy), well it looks like he's established a cohort of teachers who maintain professional blogs and have created them for students in the class. Why can't we do that? Maybe you and I should look into setting up a workshop on using blogs. I know that it wasn't until I started experimenting that I truly discovered all that is out there. The people who showed me all that are teachers out there who blog and maintain wikis. In the last four months, I've spent a lot of time online regularly reading dozens of blogs. Unfortunately, I'm up too late tonight doing just that.

Read this post, from a teacher in South Korea, who is very active in using blogs and wikis. He has some interesting thoughts about how it should be done. His ideas are part of a thread he's posted about the use of blogs in classrooms and the concerns about how teachers can ruin them if they aren't used properly.

Your move.

Game On

OK, here goes. Bing and I have spoken a bit about how we use (or try to use) technology in the classrooms and I think this is a good place to start a dialogue regarding the implementation of technology in the classroom from a teacher's perspective. The administration and the technology department staff are encouraged to participate, we will not be able to effectively adjust what it is we do here without you, so hop on board.

We welcome all input, please feel free to start your own blog, comment here about the topic(s) posted, or find some other way to spark discussion (wiki anyone?) about this extremely important subject.

I will try to keep us updated on some topics that other schools and individuals are using to help their students prepare for the challenges they face now and in the future regarding technology in the classroom, as well as technology AS the classroom. But more on that later.

Here's some stuff that has gotten me a bit fired-up about this. Some of these we have already seen via e-mail. They are thought-provoking to say the least. Karl Fisch presentations-Arapahoe High School, Littleton CO.



I think the next question is , (as the blog is titled) "What's the Next Move?"


GAME ON!

Webster