Classroom 2.0: The Book - A Collaborative Project
So I've been mulling this over for a couple of months, and I think we should do it.
I'd like to propose that as a community we work together to create a book on the uses and impact of Web 2.0 in education. This could be in the form of a wiki or a downloadable PDF file, or both, and would involve the outlining of the the book's contents, then working together to write it. We would want chapters introducing Web 2.0 principles and pedagogies, specific technologies by category (blogs, wikis, social networks, etc.), and give lots of practical examples of their actual use both for classroom application and professional development.
Of course, the content will need to be updated and/or changed with some regularity, but if this idea is a good one, we could schedule to do minor changes every 6 months and major changes every year.
If we were to have a print version (Lulu?), or if a publisher (dreaming?) wanted to pick it up, we could use any revenues to help sponsor the free workshop series.
There are a number of questions we'd have to answer if we decided to do this: how do we delegate and oversee contributions, who would do final edits, what platform would we use to write it (wiki, Google docs, other?), what license to release it under, and many more I'm sure you will think of that I haven't. I'm going to propose that we hold an Elluminate session to talk these through and do the initial organizing, but before we do so I thought it might be good to get some feedback from you first.
Do you like the idea? Do you have any initial thoughts?
I'd like to propose that as a community we work together to create a book on the uses and impact of Web 2.0 in education. This could be in the form of a wiki or a downloadable PDF file, or both, and would involve the outlining of the the book's contents, then working together to write it. We would want chapters introducing Web 2.0 principles and pedagogies, specific technologies by category (blogs, wikis, social networks, etc.), and give lots of practical examples of their actual use both for classroom application and professional development.
Of course, the content will need to be updated and/or changed with some regularity, but if this idea is a good one, we could schedule to do minor changes every 6 months and major changes every year.
If we were to have a print version (Lulu?), or if a publisher (dreaming?) wanted to pick it up, we could use any revenues to help sponsor the free workshop series.
There are a number of questions we'd have to answer if we decided to do this: how do we delegate and oversee contributions, who would do final edits, what platform would we use to write it (wiki, Google docs, other?), what license to release it under, and many more I'm sure you will think of that I haven't. I'm going to propose that we hold an Elluminate session to talk these through and do the initial organizing, but before we do so I thought it might be good to get some feedback from you first.
Do you like the idea? Do you have any initial thoughts?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by samccoy on -
Plus, Wikispaces has been very supportive of the whole web2.0 collaboration w/educators.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Mirtschin on
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I agree, that wikis are the way to go and I like wikispaces but mainly due to my experience with them.
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Permalink Reply by samccoy on
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Yes, I agree. I have a wiki at all the education wiki sites, but Wikispaces is, IMHO, the easiest to use. They have also added many features that would be helpful in embedding media, etc.
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Permalink Reply by MJ Page on -
Hi, Steve and everyone,
I'm new to this, forum so not sure if my reply is in right (level) but I'm interested in what kind of outline you have for topics, it sounds like a great idea, and I will try to follow the discussion and contribute to the "book" I find it interesting to have the opportunity to collabarate with other professionals interested in education and new technologies. I agree with Robin that the technology are changing so quickly that it might be web 3.0 or 2.9494848 or something, but the real value is in the learning prosess, the engagement, the shifts in teacher roles etc not the specifics of the program. I will keepin touch!
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Permalink Reply by Michael Wacker on -
Great idea!, I'd be more than wiling to help or contribute. I'd think you'd need teams...contributors and editors?
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Permalink Reply by John Faig on -
May I suggest these three steps...
Step one is a laundry list of topics. Step two is to create a spreadsheet in Google Docs where people can identify their expertise with each Web2.0 technology. Step three is to create groups using the spreadsheet.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Hargadon on -
I've been mulling this over, as I think that the "form" of the project will have a huge impact on the outcome. While Google docs/spreadsheets are easiest to use, they are very difficult to track and identify changes in. A wiki, on the other hand, is really good at showing and tracking changes, but may not be the easiest tool for everyone. A wiki also has the advantage of being instantly accessible on the web as a resource, but probably harder to get into .pdf form for the "print" version. Ultimately, we need to make sure that the form we use also provides us with the easiest path for updates and later versions.
With regard to topics, I am leaning toward letting people populate a list by submitting the topics that they would like to write about, and then others of us can identify categories or topics where we think there should be material but no one has signed up.
Like any project, I also think we are going to discover things along the way, so I agree that we should get started. I personally want the chance to do a live brainstorm session, so I'm going to schedule one in Elluminate in the next few days and announce it here. I may schedule a couple given that we're likely to have folks with different availability.
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Permalink Reply by John Faig on
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Steve,
I was suggesting a Google Docs spreadsheet only as a mechanism to collect various expertise on topics. I am agnostic about the actual collaboration vehicle.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Hargadon on
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Yes, and if that seemed critical of your suggestion, it wasn't my intent at all. Google Docs is way easier in some regards and might be my first choice from that standpoint as well. At the same time I find that changes can easily get lost and so I'm just thinking out loud. :)
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Permalink Reply by Robin Martin on -
Off topic, but I laughed so hard when I saw your icon!! I have not seen that Spy vs. Spy for years. Thanks for the memory!!
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Permalink Reply by Steve Hargadon on
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I agree that we'll want some folks in these different roles. I think our editors are going to need to be cheerleaders as well, encouraging contribution. I think the editors will need to establish some guidelines for contribution, then divide responsibilities and meet regularly to figure out what's working and what is not.
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Permalink Reply by Barb Smalla on -
I'm new to Elluminate, and at first look it seems to be limited to 3 people unless you have a paid subscription...am I missing something? Will we all be able to collaborate at one time? Thanks.
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