social networking

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Tips 2012 Professional Learning #16:Creating and sharing learning online

One of the ways to create interactive online experiences is to use a learning management system (LMS). This is much easier than you think and is a great way to use mobile learning devices in daily classroom practice. These systems now incorporate social networking so students can create and share their learning as part of professional learning networks. There are a range of these, today I am discussing two free LMS systems designed for classroom use. Edmodo and Schoology.  I am seeing excellent use of  these systems in classrooms. Teachers can post tasks and assessments online in the password protected space they have created for their students. They can give parents access to sections of the site so parents can view the work. Students can access this work anywhere, anytime on a web enabled device. There are apps for Android and IOS devices like iphones and iPads. Students can post their responses to their teacher and work collaboratively with their peers. The facility to set up groups is very useful. The student work is all safely stored online, no need for complex server configurations.

Schoology

This video link guides you through how to set up a site in Schoology. Schoology has advanced features to set up test and assessments with self marking features.

Edmodo 

The Edmodo help site with very useful tips on everything you need to get this up and running in your classroom.

This post gives more details on how to use Edmodo in education

This post on edmodo gives lots of links to schools and blog sites with practical examples of edmodo in action
This video shows how a 5th grade student uses Edmodo

Please post a comment and share how you are using these tools in your teaching and learning

Edmodo touch app also available for android devices

Tips2012: i-Kids make a difference:#1:Jude`s i-Story

 

Jude the “Living Statue”:  A boy who makes a difference…. 

      

This inspiring i-Story started with some emails in response to the TIPS2012 blog. Jude and his mum Tania asked questions about using iPads in schools in India and how to cope in settings with no WiFi network.

I directed them to the resources on the blog, and a while later received this email…

Dear Jenny, …

Thank you all so much for supporting Jude “The Living Statue” in raising money for an iPad for an Indian school. He raised a total £220 – which is quite amazing and inspiring, especially as it was all his own idea to do this.

The iPad caused huge amount of excitement and the children kept looking at their fingers  when they were drawing/writing on the iPad, as they couldn’t understand why there wasn’t ink on them!  

Here are some photos of Jude showing the kids at the school how an iPad works.

Jude showing the children in India how to use the iPad

We spent hours at a rather nice hotel in the local town, using their free wifi to download some educational apps.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, and Australian Dr Jenny Lane of iPad project in schools, we found some fantastic apps that can be used without wifi.  Especially good were the animations and puppet shows with self recorded narration, which are great for story telling, imagination and those not confident in speaking English – plus they are lots of fun.

Thank you all again for your support…

Tania & Jude

Tania, Jude`s mother comments “I am amazed he had so much courage to stand on Ledbury Road, which is quite a busy street in Notting Hill.  I am very proud of him and very happy for you to include on your blog – which was so helpful for us.”

Living Statutes

“Living Statues” are people who dress up like a statue and stand motionless on the street, usually on a pedestal.  They are usually painted from head to toe – white, bronze or gold, etc. and will only move, or shake your hand etc when you give them some money.
Jude (Millais) is the great-great-great grandson of the painter John Everett Millais (http://www2.tate.org.uk/ophelia/)

 

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Tips2012 iPad App Guide #9: Diigo

Diigo is a connected teacher’s best friend!

Diigo provides a simple way to bookmark, annotate, and search the hundreds, if not thousands of websites that we bookmark from our Twitter feeds, web searches, and collegial recommendations. It allows users to tag, highlight, and add sticky notes to ANY webpage, and because they are stored in the cloud, they can be accessed on almost any device. And it’s available as an iPad app!

We highly recommend the Diigo for Educators account (free, but requires a school email address), which provides teachers, and their students, with a powerful research tool at their fingertips. To find out how you can use Diigo in the classroom, please review the links below.

Don’t forget to install the web highlighter / toolbar for your browser!

For: Teachers, Students, Administrators

Cost: Free (Download)

Requires WiFi?: Yes

Diigo V5: Collect and Highlight, Then Remember! from diigobuzz on Vimeo.

Educational Applications

  • Research / Inquiry – share useful links
  • Collate favourite classroom games
  • Professional Development (Curate favourite websites)
  • Join Diigo education groups (examples)

Examples of Diigo Libraries

Further Reading

How do you use Diigo? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Tips2012 iPad App Guide #5: Edmodo

 

Edmodo is a private social networking site where teachers, students, and parents can connect, engage and learn; taking learning beyond the classroom walls.

Edmodo has advanced privacy settings built in, making it a very safe, secure, (and free) platform for schools. Its’ visual similarity to Facebook makes it extremely user-friendly for teachers and students of all ages; and isn’t blocked in most school systems.

For: Teachers, Students, Parents

Cost: Free, but requires a web account (iTunes Download)

Requires WiFi?: Yes

Using Edmodo in a K-12 School on Prezi

Educational Applications

  • Easily manage grades, projects, surveys, and student discussion topics
  • Share worksamples, videos, pictures of classroom activities with parents (through their child’s profile)
  • Help (absent) students keep up-to-date with what’s happening in school
  • Create collaborative stories, literature circles, book clubs, participate in global projects (example)
  • Provide stimulus for improving writing skills
  • Create virtual exhibitions, museum scavenger hunts
  • Teachers can join professional learning communities in areas of interest (e.g. education technology, school administration)
  • And MUCH more!

Further Reading

Recommended Twitter Follows

How do YOU use Edmodo & the iPad App in the Classroom?

We’d love to hear your thoughts! 

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Tips2012 iPad App Guide #4: Flipboard

 

Flipboard creates interactive digital magazines on your iPad based on your selection of social media feeds – from news websites, Twitter, Google Reader, blogs, Flickr, Facebook, Instagram, and blogs. It brings reading to life, and it’s FREE!

Flipboard is useful for teachers interested in connecting, sharing, and learning with other teachers around the world (via their Personal Learning Networks); and has interesting applications in the (secondary) classrooms.

For: Teachers, Students (Secondary)

Cost: Free (Download here)

Requires WiFi?: Yes

Educational Applications

Aggregate social networking and news feeds (teachers)

  • Easily keep up to date with educational blogs in your Google (RSS) Reader
  • Link to classroom Twitter / Facebook accounts to share links, pictures, and photos with students and their parents. Check the permissions of your school and district before using social networks with the students.
  • Subscribe to newspapers around the world
  • Explore texts & online media written in foreign languages
  • Create virtual textbooks (example)

Further Reading

15 Fantastic Uses of Flipboard (Cool Cat Teacher blog)