Web 2.0 Conference

Classrooms 2.0 is holding a Web 2.0 Educational Technology Workshop this September 19th and 20th in Philadelphia, PA. For those that can not make it to Philadelphia several IU’s will be hosting the conference virtually. They include, IU1, IU9, IU13, NEIU19, and WestmorlandIU. The conference will focus on best practices for using Web 2.0 technology in the classroom. Current workshop topics include: Integration Strategies, Wikis in Education, Blogs in Education, Open Source Resources, Web 2.0 Resources for Effective Instructional Integrations Creating Classroom Social Networks, Creating Podcasts, Live Classroom Streaming, United Streaming/Discovery Education, Video Conference Collaborations, Classroom Webinars, RSS in the classroom, Effective Communications Teacher/Student/Parents, Effective Hardware Solutions for the limited classroom or district, Educational Technology Leadership, and Diiggo in the Classroom. Here is a link for more information on the conference.

<http://www.classroom20wiki.com/CR+20+LIVE+Philadelphia+08

Web Page editing

I am often looking for programs to create web pages for novice users. I would venture a guess that most teachers do not want to learn HTML or even think about it if they do not have to. While taking the time to learn a little HTML can really go a long way, there are plenty of programs that will allow you to create a site with zero HTML skills. Here are a few to try:

Dreamweaver – Pros: This software will allow both novice users and experts to create websites and is one of my favorites. Cons: First, price. All of the Adobe software comes with a price tag and this one is no different. Educators can get dreamweaver alone for around $110.00. Also, Dreamweaver can have a little bit of a learning curve. Because you can do so much with Dreamweaver it is a bit intimidating for the novice user.

iWeb – Pros: iWeb has some really beautiful designers that make it easy to create very professional looking sites. Cons: Again, price. iWeb is part of Apple’s iLife suite which runs $79.00. Another con is that it is only available on the Mac. This eliminates a large group of computer users. Finally iWeb is great when coupled with MobileMe (another $99 / year) to host your, but if you don’t want to pay any more you will have to do a little work to get the site working in another form.

Weebly – Pros: FREE. did I mention Free. This is a web based product where you can sign up for free and create sites (http://www.weebly.com/). Weebly also has some great templates to get you up and running in no time. Cons: The free version only lets you host one free site per user. You can export the pages and start over again, otherwise you would have to create multiple users for multiple sites.

WordPress: While this is not a web page editor, if you are looking for a blog site this is the one to go with.  It is obviously the one I use, if you are reading this you know that.  Great for this kind of a web page.

There are plenty more products out there. Let me know what you like to use in the comments.

Nota

My good friend Cheryl Cappozzoli, a.k.a. “The Web 2.0 Guru”, recently invited me to try out Nota. Cheryl is a great Web 2.0 user and finds some really unique and interesting tools. Check out her Web 2.0 blog here: http://web20guru.wikispaces.com/

Nota is a “fun” Web 2.0 application that allows you to easily create spaces using text, pictures, videos, maps, cliaprt, and more. think of it as a customized whiteboard. You can create spaces that you can then embed into your own website, blog, social network, etc. Nota will automatically update each site that contains the content whenever you update your page on Nota.

Some of the ways you may be able to use Nota would be to create a class scrapbook, a class picture board, a class message board (with multimedia), a study notebook, a recipe card/book, and more. The following link has example sites that have been created by Nota users. http://notaland.com/featured

This resource is probably geared more towards elementary classrooms, but it has the potential for use at any level. Enjoy and leave a comment if you found other uses for it.

Discovery Educators Network (DEN)

Many of you know about Discovery Education or United Streaming.  They have some great resources for bringing rich multi media to your lessons.  The best part is that all of the resources are free.  You can find content that is applicable to the lessons you are teaching and seamlessly integrate them into your curriculum. For more information about Discovery Education go to:

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com

What I want to talk about today is taking the next step by joining the Discovery Educators Network (DEN). This is a social network for educators. While some of us may conjure up inappropriate images and thoughts when we hear the words “social network” I assure you they can be excellent ways to communicate and collaborate with people who have the same interests as you do. At this time there are just as many good and appropriate uses of social networking as there are abuses of the system. It is an area where our youth really paved the way and showed adults how an online community can be beneficial.

The DEN is a place where educators go to talk about education. Specifically the discussion boards are littered with tons of resources and best practices from teachers who are creating multi-media rich lessons for their students. A great way to start with this social network is to join and start reading the discussion boards. You do not even have to be an active participant at first, but I think you will find that once you find some resources that are useful you will find yourself wanting to share ideas as well. For those that want to go even further there are STAR educators. These are the educators who are leading the way in 21st century education in the classroom. There are links on the site to find out what it means to be a STAR educator and the responsibilities and benefits that come with it.

Free iPod touch

In case you were not aware, Apple is running a promotion right now that when you buy a new Mac you qualify for a free 8GB iPod touch.  The following link had information on the offer:

http://www.apple.com/backtoschool/faculty.html?cid=WWW-NAUS-BTS20080530-KQEQ9

The iPod touch’s are a great new iPod.  They now contain all features of the iPhone except for the phone.  One suggestion would be to not buy the Mac until July 11th.  Apple is releasing new software for their iPhone and iPod touch and if you purchase before the 11th you may be forced to pay the $9.95 to upgrade your new iPod to the newest software.  It is worth waiting a few days.