On May 3rd I will start teaching a class for teachers in my district called "Intro to Web 2.0." We will be meeting for 2 hours every Thursday for 6 consecutive Thursdays. Teachers will earn 1 graduate credit. I posted this class to the district on a Monday and it was full by Wednesday. I'm pretty excited. I have 17 teachers K-12 signed up, including fellow educational technology specialists, librarians, classroom teachers and special educators. I have gotten a lot of ideas here for things to do in the class (We are using Will Richardson's book as a text - which the district is paying for!). I also plan to have everyone sign up on Classroom 2.0.

Okay - I'm getting to the question... I am planning to call everyone up (yes on the phone - not even Web 1.0 - but I think the best way to get a response from people) before starting the class and ask them some questions as a "Learning Needs Resource Assessment." Something I learned from Jane Vella's work on adult learning theory. I would like to ask people what they already know and what they might contribute to the group.

Okay... Okay... here is the question. What do you think I should ask people? If you were taking this course what would you want the instructor to know about you? If you were teaching this course, what would you like to know about your students?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions. Thank also to everyone who gave me such great ideas for my wiki project. I am getting a lot out of this space - both lurking (or blurking) and participating!

Tags: intro_web2.0, teaching

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Elizabeth:

As an agreggator I prefer Netvibes (http://www.netvibes.com). It seems to me more user friendly, and has a desktop metaphor.

Regarding feevy (http://www.feevy.com/), it is another aggregation product. Some people are calling these products "web 2.1", because of their "We do" philosophy (a social construction), replacing the "I think" idea that the blog originally represents.

From the Feevy homepage:

How feevy works

You tell us your favorite blogs (or any source with a RSS fe ed). We give you a personalized feevy tag. Just place the tag in your blog template and... bang ! Your friends will appear in your blog! Feevy shows the latest posts from your favorite blogs in one column putting them in order according to the latest updates, which will appear on top.



Hope this helps
Regards
Definitely does. I added it to my school blog . Very cool. I'll check out netvibes too.
Thanks.
-Elizabeth
My advice is to prepare your sessions and start your first class explaining to teacher the basic concepts and manipulate the Web.2.0.

good luck

J G. Salcido
Hi Elizabeth!
It sounds like its going to be a great class. Are you talking about what level your fellow teachers are at currently in terms of technology? If so, there are several online assessments they can take to determine where they are. LoTi Lounge(Levels of technolgy integration) is one.
Thanks everyone for all of your suggestions. With your help these are the questions I've come up with. If I've left anything essential out please let me know. I'm going to start talking to people tomorrow.

How do you use technology for your own personal productivity?
How do you use technology with your students?
How would/can you define "Web 2.0?"
Do you use any Web 2.0 tools right now - Del.icio.us, flickr, bloggs, wikis, podcasts, aggregators, youtube -for your own use or with students?
What educational topics interest you the most, ie - achievement gap, writing process, special education issues, technology integraton.....
What non-educational topics are you interested in reading about, ie - sports, knitting, theater, dance, women's issues, politics...
What do you want to get out of this class?
What do you think you bring to this class?
Elizabeth
I do a lot of training with teachers and they are always especially interested in how the activities created will align with their state curriculum framewoks. They like to hear about new technologies, but to get them truly invested in them they must see a way that it can be adapted to their immediate teaching situation.
To achieve this goal in your course I would make sure that I know what subject/grade level that they teach. I usually ask teachers to tell me a little about the most successful way they have used technology personally and also with their students. This way you get to hear about the technology they are comfortable with and the way they see technology being used effectively (by their definition) in the classroom.
I also ask wha the technology configuration is in their own classroom and school - e.g. number of computers in classroom, color printer, smartboard, mobile carts, computer labs. etc.
This way you can structure some of your discussions around ways to use the technology within a varity of scenarios, whole class, center approach, one on one.
Hope this is helpful.
Maureen
Good evening Elizabeth, I have read the information posted here with growing interest. The students I teach also begin their academic lives with a 'welcome task,' as proposed by Kevin H. 'In the time it takes to boil an egg, what are YOUR expectations of YOUR learning experience.' Our learning assistant proposed the idea and we are forever thankful to her. We were advised to allow the learners to communicate in what ever medium they felt most skilled. Some simply wrote a biography in word or presented in ppt, two recorded an interview, one student created a collage of photos in www.slide.com. It was great to know what their expectations were rather than what I thought the course should be. In their course reviews, three or four recalled their first week experiences as a reason for fulfiling the course.

An apps worth looking up, www.voicethread.com.
Idea borrowed from an old UK tv show. Skills SWAPSHOP. What skills do you have to swop? I have blogging skills..... would like to learn multimedia skills?
I like to start a class by having teachers read "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants". I ask them if they are a native or an immigrant and to explain why. It definitely creates a comfort level, and explains the gap many teachers feel between themselves and their students. Even if they've already read it, it starts a conversation within a context.
Have a ball with your class!
We are going to do a Technology fair in my system to highlight 2.0 activities for our teachers in the fall. You would be shocked as to how many teachers don't even know about blogs and wikis. Most have heard of podcasting, but not the aforementioned. There is a lot of good information at http://abpc.wikispaces.com

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)
Elizabeth - I have taught a similar "course". I would make a list of things that you feel are important for intro. to 2.0 (blog, wiki, forum, RSS etc.) - ask them to respond to each with Never heard of it, heard - but never used, used - but want more, got it. I would also ask them if they have any ideas or wishes for the sessions.
Elizabeth,
You've generated a great discussion that has brought out equally great ideas. One thing I would recommend is to give your class a pre-quel. An assignment before they arrive to the first class. In addition to your phone call, direct them to one of the numerous sites hosting the video "Are You Paying Attention?" I found it on TeacherTube and teachingeverystudent.wikispaces.com/. Another one is http://www.sfett.com/ican5/digital_students.html. Ask folks to note their reactions, their thoughts after viewing the videos to share (in a class blog?) before you start the class.
Of course stunned silence is also a reaction.....
I started a group as a place to talk more about professional development. Please join in and contribute if you are interested. As school is ending I am feeling completely overwhelmed at the moment. I have had very little time to participate here and I am missing it. I hope to get back involved once the summer starts - when not taking the millions of classes I have signed up for (including one on Second Life) or taking care of my kids.

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