Steve Hargadon, tireless in his efforts to bring teachers on board with Web 2.0 possibilities, led the way at yet another Classroom 2.0 event. I’m very glad I was able to attend the Friday session and part of Saturday’s. As a result, here are some new tools I’ll be adding to my toolkit and/or now have better understanding of their potential:

Friday Session

• drop.io – Concept of a drop box. Create content; add files (e.g., add Word file and it will convert to web-based format). You can call in a message and it will convert it to an MP3 file. Very cool! You can email content in. You can even get a conference call number (for synchronous use of drop.io?). Drop.io offers a “dizzying array of features!” Thanks to Jeff Karlsen, Sac City CC, for sharing this tool.

• Google Maps – While not a new tool for me, for too long I’ve continued to be a consumer, not a producer. But with Joe Wood leading the way, I’m motivated to start playing with Google Maps and to start working it into K12 curriculum examples. It’s really the easiest way for students to create Google Earth pieces, since G Maps offers a rich text toolbar, which Google Earth does not.  Think of the 4th grade missions report, for instance. Students can create tours in G Maps and then save as a Google Earth file, giving classmates the thrill of flying into their mission (hard to do with the sugar cube version;-).  Might just be a starting point of some student-created Google Lit Trips! For a window into Joe’s Google presentations, checkout his wiki.

• Zack Dowell led a session on backchanneling, which he described as “putting tech in everyone’ s hands.” We went live with Today’s Meet . Love the simple, clean interface! Zack’s session included some discussion on appropriate vs. inappropriate uses of backchanneling. I think backchanneling is great way to promote interactive listening during those hour-long videos a science or social studies teacher regularly integrates into a lesson plan. Of course, like any tool, things can get a bit out of hand. Watch as via backchanneling an audience turns into a mob: South by Southwest Conference.  I’ll be adding a feed from Zack’s Delicious bookmarks: www.diigo.com/list/dowellz/tlc_trends.But even more important than backchanneling, Zack is involved with the Plant a Row Project in El Dorado County (hey, talk about a good use of Google Maps!).
• Ever wish you had unlimited storage space for backing up your work?! Grace Esteban shared adrive.com – free storage backup – 50 gigabytes!
• How about a tour Google Earth led  by a college history professor?! Stuart Graybill put GE into a nutshell: ” You can do things you can’t do with a flat map.” He started with GE’s opening world globe screen, used the control bar to disable borders, and invited us to consider the earliest movement of human beings from Asia to the Americas. Historians are now questioning the walking across the Bering Straits theory. Google has added underwater images, which makes it easy to see that with during a time of lower sea levels, more land allowed for “hopping” from one continent to the next.I loved Stuart’s example of the Northwest Ordinance, our nation’s 1787 document that required, amongst other things, that land be laid out in squares.  So “fly over” US cities or farming communities – such as our very own Yolo County – and the impact of that ordinance become visible as you view the grid-like squareness that was required by law. Jump from Yolo County to Normandy, France, to compare two totally different ways of laying out land.Wondering if you want to download the latest version of Google Earth? This video on New! Google Earth 5 was all I needed to click the download button.

Saturday Afternoon Speed Demos (Sorry, I was over at the A3WP during the morning session, so my notes do not include Kristen Hokanson’s Elluminate session on copyright or Larry Ferlazzo’s ELL session)

• scribd.com – Think of it as “youtube” for documents.
• slideshare – lets you embed audio – and the audio will match. You can also embed YouTube videos.
• netvibes – like igoogle – lets you create a page with content – then you can share that page (e.g., – give to your class). Others can use the page. You can add an RSS tab. For instance, if I wanted to do as Steve does and have notification come into my Netvibes page anytime someone references me in Twitter, I could add rss search on @gailhd on Twitter. (Note to self: I need to start playing with this app.)
• Delicous vs. Diigo – I still like Delicious and continue to use it, but at the same time, continue to move more into Diigo.  It’s still a huge wow factor to me that I can “stick it to the Internet” via Diigo’s highlighting, commenting, sticky-noting, etc., tools.  But it’s the Diigo Groups option that has really brought me on board.  Whether through a public group such as Discovery Educators’ Network (DEN) or a private group such as the NWP Digital Is group, I look forward to the almost daily gems that arrive in my Diigo account – and via email.Alice recommends starting students (and teachers) with the diigolet toobar. To add it via IE, right click and add to favorites. You can then pluck it out of your favorites. Students will need the diigolet applet on their computers – and they’ll need to be signed in. Thanks to Diigo Educator Acconts – you can set up students under 13.
  
  OK, trivia fact: Delicious invented the whole concept of tagging.
• twitter – Interesting discussion. Steve, who claims to “not really get Twitter,” asked us to describe it to the non-users. We started with concept of Twitter hash tags – “peer-reviewed connected tissue.” We also discussed fact that unlike RSS feeds, which are updated periodically, Twitter updates are instant! Just lIke text messaging, but recipient part not built in – but anybody can get access. It’s a text message = 40404. You can direct message via d_name, which is easier than a cell phone number.  Also, by clicking on a fellow Tweeter’s following box, you can redirect their Tweets to your  phone (haven’t used this feature yet).
  
  Trivia fact: Twitter was invented by same guy who invented Blogger.

• Jory Hadsell ended the day with a great demo on screencasting using Jing.  The ability to annotate screens can be very useful for a teacher wanting to introduce, review, or extend a concept. Although my department has paid for SnagIt, I do recommend Jing to teachers.

Did I mention that the Classroom 2.0 Sacramento get together was free?! Many thanks to Steve Hargadon for his vision and support and to Melissa Green and Sac City College collegues for hosting the event!

As my tag cloud shows, the National Writing Project is central to my personal learning network (PLN).  In previous posts, I’ve referred to the growing bank of resources (think “mind prompts”) showcasing inquiry, best practices, collaborative projects, etc., from teachers across the nation, who also find themselves in tech leadership positions and/or needing to justify the integration of technology in a test-driven climate.  In the past year, for example, I’ve revisited and directed colleagues to such powerful resources as Clifford Lee and Yumi Matsui’s documentation of Literacy, ELL, and Digital Storytelling, Henry Jenkins’ white paper on participatory cultures, and the dynamic Letters to the Next President project.

It was my privilege to travel to Berkeley this last weekend to join an amazing group of NWP colleagues as part of the Digital Is initiative. As an opening activity, we shared personal stories of a “whack on the head” – experiences that brought the integration of technology into our personal teacher tool kits. For a starter,  Liz Stevens, Director of the Central Texas Writing Project, shared her observation on the shift in the teaching of writing from being all about “stages” to being about “frames” – a huge “whack on the head” for me!

Over the next year, with additional input from the Digital Is Initiative, the NWP will be adding to their website, with a commitment to provide visitors with resources to enhance, shift, challenge their notions on teaching and to make visible the intersection between technology and writing.  For example:

• Looking for an example to make visible the concept of composing multimodal texts? Checkout Peter Kittle’s Multimodal Documents Inquiry — and be sure to click on the video links!
• Trying to make visible what collaborative writing via a wiki might look like with high school students? Checkout Paul Allison’s Latino Pride screencast video.
• Maybe you’re wondering how to join in a conversation about empowering students to use technology to change the world. Checkout a sample from the weekly Teachers Teaching Teachers webcast show (and join the Wednesday evening conversations!)

Based on the weekend conversations from  Digital Is group, I can assure you the above samples are but a glimpse of thought-provoking resources to come.

How about you?  Do you have a “whack on the head” to share?

For the past year, I’ve teamed with our district web master to take our Internet Safety workshop on the road in an effort to make it accessible to parents as well as teachers.  Besides the evening regional face-to-face workshops, we also host the 2WebWatchers blog, an open invitation to teachers, parents, and the community at large to join in the conversation of best ways to help students learn to use the Internet safely, effectively, and ethically.

As part of the presentation, we showcase how teachers are harnessing the power of Web 2.0 to take learning beyond the walls of the classroom – while teaching students the protocols to keep them safe from others, from each other, and from themselves.  A concern voiced by some parents is that their elementary student has little access to the Internet during the school day due to lack of computers in the classroom and limited access to computer lab time.  Therefore social networking is not woven into their child’s school day.  They ask for recommendations of safe social networking sites their child might use at home.

My question to parents is “Is there a specific interest or goal for bringing your child into the world of social networking? For instance, do you wish to:

• create an online communication tool for your child, family and friends that can be accessed, expanded, archived over the years?” If the answer is “yes,” then I recommend creating a blog, using an ad-free program such as Google’s Blogger.  An excellent example is All About Amy. I first learned about Amy’s blog via a post from her father. I can’t help thinking in the years to come how much Amy will value being able to look back at conversations with her immediate family, relatives, friends, and all those who helped her on her journey to becoming a reflective writer. All About Amy is a great model for parents as co-pilots!

• provide your child, age 5-8, with access to a safe, international audience and a window into other cultures? If the answer is “yes,” then I recommend Panwapa – Where Kids Shape the World. This site is an excellent introduction to social networking! For a starter, the only “personal information” required to create a profile is your child’s country. Sponsored by Sesame Street, Panwapa allows children to visit other members around the world, thus learning about other cultures and languages as well as world geography. Members are walked through steps to create an avatar.  (Note: Panwapa “card” shown is mine.) With pre-scripted messages and a built in voice-over directions, Panwapa is accessible to pre-readers.  The Care Giver and Teacher Guides are also helpful.  A safe FREE site with educational value and no ads (other than funders’ logos). Appropriate for ages 5+

For parents who are curious about several of the better-known social networking sites for elementary students and ‘tweens,  here is some background information:

• Club Penguin – Brought to you by Disney, and, although it’s possible to join and play for free, more options are available to paying members.  Site is heavy on consumerism, but does offer levels of parental control.  A recent parent review published to Good Housekeeping Magazine, Undercover in a Kids Online World, is an interesting insight into the “good” vs. “bad” of this site. Parents should definitely be co-pilots on this site and provide guidance and explanations about how to deal with unfriendly messages. Appropriate for ages 8+

• Webkinz – Requires purchase of a Webkinz pet in order to get “pet code” required for becoming a member. (As a parent who not too many years back, combed San Francisco in search of a Cabbage Patch doll for daughter, I can hardly be critical of need to purchase a Webkinz pet.) This site is all about consumerism, which could possibly teach children lessons in saving. Definitely needs a parent co-pilot to monitor unfriendly messages. Appropriate for 8+

• Imbee – “Sorry to announce that this site is down indefinitely.” Too bad because this site offered a parent-monitored introduction to blogging. Appropriate for ages 11+

For parents wondering where to go in order to find reviews of kid-friendly social network sites, I recommend Common Sense Media.

Any insights from readers would be most welcome!

Note: Webkinz image copied from http://sydemkate.com/Images/webkinz3.gif

A post from Larry Ferlazzo on The Best Sites to Learn about the Earthquake in Italy got me thinking about resources to provide students with background on earthquakes in general – and a handout CSUSM Professor Kathy Hayden recently gave me (during the Robert Marzano session at CUE):

• IRIS Seismic Monitor – Students will love the zoom capabilities of this site as they develop an understanding of the patterns formed by recent earthquakes. Site includes news link to additional info on quakes.
• Flash-based Epicenter Locating Tools - Thanks to Cal State Uni, San Marcos, middle school teachers have a ready-made set of lessons to help students understand how scientists actually gather data on earthquakes.
• U.S. Geologic Survey: Volcanoes Hazards Program – You can’t study about earthquakes without studying about volcanoes.  Checkout current volcanic activity from around the world. Site even has real-time images of recent U.S. volcanoes via webcams.
• Physical Geography Animations – Houghton Mifflin modules + University of Kentucky Geology Dept = outstanding resource! Checkout plate tectonics interactive map!

To the above resources, I’d like to add a tip and link for promoting active listening to science videos (or any video that has students sitting for more than five minutes): Today’s Meeting – a tool that can be used for  incorporating interactive backchanneling into movie watching. (What is backchanneling, you ask?) I discovered Today’s Meeting via a Tweet from Jackie Gerstein, which led to a  post by Chris Webb explaining innovative use of  the tool by middle school history teacher Pat Gerding.

Once again, I stand back in awe of the power of Web 2.0 and its ability to build PLNs not possible only a few years back.

Twitter has been much in the news of late. From clips of members of Congress “tweeting” while in session to newscasters who end their late-breaking stories with not only an invitation to join the discussion on their network’s blog, but also to follow their Twitter feed. So I was not surprised during my Thursday night 2WebWatchers‘ presentation to find that parents now have more questions about Twitter than they do about MySpace.

I’ve also been following the discussions on Mike Arsenault’s blog and Kevin Jarrett’s blog and reflecting on my personal use of Twitter, a tool I’ve been using for about two years (thanks to a guided tour by Bud Hunt during a break out session, pub style, at a NWP Web Presence conference in Amherst MA).

So here’s my current list of favorite Twitter resources:

• Mark Warner and Tom Barrett’s Ideas to Inspire: 21 Ways to Use Twitter
• By way of  Alec Couros – Open Thinking – CBC Interview Twitter the Global Tool on YouTube
• Twitter for Teachers – A wiki for sharing Twitter resources and classroom uses
• By way of John Pederson:

Twitter for me is my PLN at a glance. There’s not a day goes by that I don’t easily find gems within those 140-character chunks of resources, tips, inspiration, meaty questions – and humor.  Like Kevin Jarrett, I follow other educators – but only if they have a link to their website, so I have some idea of their educational philosophies. John Pederson, whose recent tweet lead me to the above YouTube gem, does not follow me.  I don’t care.  It would be hard to count the times I’ve logged on to Twitter just in time for one of John’s hilarious tweets.  And who doesn’t need a little humor infused into the work day?!  And lucky for me, I was able to convince our district that Twitter is one social networking service that deserves to be unblocked.