I can see the end in sight!!! I did not think I had any more mental energy left to absorb new ideas, but I liked Ning and Classroom 2.0. I think they provide a way to combine many ideas from this course. Here’s what I liked:
- Web 2.0 learning: great discussions, smart board ideas, and new ideas for me such as Wetpaint and diigo (I think diigo might be the answer to my organizational issues with all this new tech stuff.
- Musictechnology blog: I found this in the web 2.0 site. This blog shows kids how to do podcasts with step by step instructions. Simple enough that even teacher could understand.
- Music Educators Looking for Collaboration: I found a rotoball project that would be great for middle/upper elem. music students. Schools from around the world participate by having kids create music (garage band style) for the animation.
- A music blog that was set up strictly for kids to write opinions and reactions to music they listened to.
- Voices of the World: This site sets up a new task each month using Voki, animato and podcasts. Kids record and make pictures for a specified song and share them. At this point there are 8 different countries, so there is a huge variety of languages.
I’m trying to brief, but it’s hard to synthesize all the ways I observed people using the social network. Many of our students are already huge users of social networks and many of the networks have been geared towards them. With two teenagers in my home, I have already experienced how places like facebook can be both wonderful and harmful. Not all kids have a clear idea of how to use this public forum appropriately. That said, I think a network like Ning is awesome because it can allow us, as teachers to tap in to the fascination with social networks, but in a much more focused way with academic topics. Hooray! Best of all, it’s easy.
Smiley face egg by marimar
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