WCSU 32 Things » Uncategorized

Practical things……

vtlibraryguy — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:24:21 +0000

The things below are offered as practical ideas for teachers and students. There are dozens of more web 2.0 things out there, this is simply a sampling.

Calcoolate: Calcoolate provides users with a simple calculator with advanced expression support, mathematic functions, and history for viewing past calculations.

e-Tutor Graphing Calculator: Advanced web-based graphing calculator allowing students to enter one or more equations and view them with position/intersection indicators and zooming functionality.

EasyBib: An “automatic bibliography composer” that lets users enter sources and fill out a simple forms to be given MLA style bibliographies.

Word Processing

Writely: Online Word Processor allowing users to create and edit documents collaboratively online, import Word documents, publicly or privately share documents, publish to a blog, and more.

Zoho Writer: Similar to Writely, Zoho Writer is an Online Word Processor where you can create, share, and collaborate on documents. Users can also publish to a blog, import and export documents, and make documents public.

MySpace

vtlibraryguy — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:45:29 +0000

MySpace

1. Here are some resources to get you started on MySpace:

About MySpace
MySpace entry on Wikipedia

2. Go to Myspace and sign up for an account. It’s pretty straightforward, but here are some instructions, should you want them:

Go to

myspace.com (link will open in a separate window).

Click the “Sign Up” button.

Fill in the account information

and enter a birthdate that makes you over 18.

Note: Don’t forget to fill out your date of birth, or you’ll get kicked back with an error message but the system won’t tell you why
Verify your account – type in the numbers you see on the screen.
Skip the ‘upload a photo’ page. This is optional and can be also done later. (Skip this step by clicking on the ‘skip for now‘ link at the bottom of the page.)
Skip the ‘Invite Your Friends’ page.This is optional and can be done as soon as you finish setting up your account. (Skip this step by clicking on the ‘skip for now‘ link at the bottom of the page.)

MySpace Account Confirmation: You will receive email verification of your new MySpace account in whatever email box you used to sign up for your MySpace Account. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your new account. By confirming your account, you will also confirm your email address and be able to invite friends.

3. Look at and set privacy settings. Click on ‘Privacy’ on the top right side of the homepage You will see:

Click on privacy and read through all of the options

4. Upload a picture to your profile.

5. Look for Groups to join – there are all kinds of groups out there on MySpace. Try looking for an eductation related group.

6. Find some friends.

To do this:

Type a name into the search box and choose ‘People’ from the dropdown menu

Or click on the search tab and search by Name, Display Name, or Email

7. Blog about your experience!

Optional:

1. Customize your account: Explore your page customization options – click on ‘Edit Profile‘ to begin. This is where you can add more information about yourself. Or not – you do not, remember, need to add a thing. This is also where you can experiment with the look of your page – have fun…

2. In your blog, add a link to your MySpace Profile in your Blogroll under a new category called “Profiles.” Make sure you add your profile URL and not the URL of your back end page.

Note: If you want to cancel your account when we’ve finished up the Learning 2.0 project, here’s what to do:
Log in to MySpace
Click on ‘settings’ (it’s in the control panel under your name)
Click on ‘Account Cancellation’ (its at the bottom of the page).
You’ll get a cancellation confirmation email – click on the link included and you’re done.

Facebook

vtlibraryguy — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:30:29 +0000

Facebook

1. Here are some resources to get you started on Facebook:

About Facebook
Facebook entry on Wikipedia
Michael Porter’s BIGWIG 2007 Facebook Presentation
12 Ways to Use Facebook Professionally

2. Go to Facebook and sign up for an account. It’s pretty straightforward, but here are some instructions, should you want them:

Enter account information and enter a birthdate that makes you over 18.

Put a check in the box next to I have read and agree to Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Click on Sign Up Now.

Check your e-mail account and find the e-mail from Facebook.

Click on the link in the e-mail.

You will be taken to a page that tells you your account has been created and you are invited to start finding friends.

Click on Skip for now.

The next screen will have you adding data to your profile. When you’re done, click Save.

3. Join a network. Some networks are geographical – a state or large city. Others are workplaces. (Some networks will be hidden from you unless you join them and some networks you won’t be able to join unless you fulfill some requirements. While you can have friends from these networks, you can’t see what’s going on in the network.)

4. Set privacy settings

5. Upload a picture to your profile.

6. Join some groups.

7. Find some friends.

You can ‘Search’ for friends by typing their name in the search box in the upper left corner. If you click on SEARCH, you can do a Basic Search for a person, or browse within various categories.
OR
You can connect with people through the networks you join.
OR
You can let Facebook dig through your e-mail address book to find friends who are already on Facebook.

Once you’ve found someone you want to be friends with on Facebook, just click on “Add to Friends.” When you select “Add to Friends” you’ll have the option of filling in some details about your relationship with that person. You can skip that step if you want to.

8. Get some Applications for your Profile page. Click on the word ‘Applications’ on the top left corner and when the page opens, click on Browse More Applications. The best way to get an understanding of these things is to try some of them out. As you work in Facebook, you will come across many different applications. If you see one that you like just add it and see how it works.

9. Blog about your Facebook experience!

A note about Privacy:

On the top right of every Facebook page are the options: home account privacy logout. Click on privacy. You will be taken to a page which allows you to choose privacy settings for who can see what of your information (when looking at your profile, when searching for you, when they contact you (before you accept their friend request), etc…There are many different settings, but please take the time to look through them. You might also want to revisit them once you get a better sense of how Facebook works.

Podcast tools

vtlibraryguy — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:55:08 +0000

Discover some useful search tools for locating podcasts

In 2005, “podcast” was named the “word of the year” by New Oxford American Dictionary. The term “podcast” was formed from the words “iPod” and “broadcast” and refers to a non-musical audio or video broadcast that is distributed over the Internet. You don’t need an iPod to listen to a podcast – any computer or MP3 player will do. What differentiates a podcast from regular streaming audio or video is that the delivery method for podcasts is often done automatically through RSS – interested listeners or watchers can receive updates through RSS when new content is posted.

Podcasts take many forms. They can be brief (just a few minutes) or considerably longer (interviews, panel discussions, radio shows, etc). They can be slickly produced radio broadcasts or home-grown recordings. There’s a podcast out there for just about every interest.

According to a recent report on eMarketer, it’s estimated the total US podcast audience reached 18.5 million in 2007, and by the year 2009 that number will double.

There are some easy ways to find podcasts, one of which is to check out your favorite web sites to see if they have podcasts available. But you can also check out sites that gather podcasts by topic or genre, so you can easily find podcasts that match your interests.

Once you find a podcast to which you’d like to subscribe, just look for a “subscribe” button or link. Copy the feed URL into your RSS feed reader like you did in Week 4 and you’re good to go. If you’re an iTunes user, simply click on the “subscribe” button and you’re all set. You’ll see the podcast added to the Podcasts section of your iTunes.

Many libraries have started using podcasts to syndicate their programming or to share other info like book or movie reviews. Here are some examples:

There’s really no end to how you could use podcasts in a school. You could record lectures, lessons, booktalks, oral histories, or stories for kids and post them online. If you combine them with a blog, participants can participate in discussions about them.

When creating your own podcasts, copyright issues need to be considered. Written text that you read must be in the public domain or original work or you must receive permission from the publisher to do so. If you mix in music it must be in the public domain. The good news is that there are sites like CCMixter and Podsafe Music Network that provide music you can use in your podcasts.

Resources

Common Craft has a video:

Podcasting in Plain English.

To find out more about podcasts:

Your Guide to Podcasts from MediaShift.
Creative Cow podcasting tutorial.

Podcast directories and finding tools:

iTunes – the most widely known service associated with podcasts, not just for Apple users, requires the download of software.
Podcast.net
Podcastalley
Podscope
Podseek
Yahoo Podcasts
See also Educational Podcast Directory
NPR Podcast Directory

Education-related podcasts which you might find interesting:

The Math Factor Podcasts

Create a Wiki

vtlibraryguy — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:40:16 +0000

Create a Wiki:

Okay, now that you have read about Wikis, here is an opportunity to create one for your class, students, or subject area. Take a tour (below), read up on creating Wikis, and then start your own…..

Resources:

PBWiki

PB Wiki Tour – a short video tutorial on PBWiki basics and how this collaborative tool can be used
PB Wiki Tips

Wetpaint:

Wetpaint Wikis in Plain English -a Common Craft Video
Tips for a Successful Site
Build Better Content

Mediawiki:

MediaWiki FAQ

Exercises:

Start your own wiki. If you don’t want to use PBWiki, Wetpaint, or Mediawiki, you can always set up a free account with any of the wikis below or use Wikimatrix to find others to explore.

Here are some theme ideas:
Document something you do in your job that others would have to know if you won the lottery and had to leave work for a life of luxury.
Create a page about a hobby or passion.
Plan a lesson plan and link to useful sites, sources and support.
Collaborate with another staff member to make a wiki together.
Make a page linking to sites you visit often for the 32Things and add to it in the next few weeks (eg. 32 Things blog, your own blog, other participant blogs you read).

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators

vtlibraryguy — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:26:53 +0000

This site is an incredibly valuable for teachers. Included are many web 2.0 sites for you to investigate. Exlore the site, find items that will help with your teaching and have fun.

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators

LibraryThing

vtlibraryguy — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:26:34 +0000

Take a look at LibraryThing and catalog some of your books.

Are you book lover or cataloger at heart? Or do you enjoy finding lost and forgotten gems on the shelf to read? Then LibraryThing may be just the tool for you. Developed for booklovers, this online tool allows you to easily create an online catalog of your own. And what makes it even more special is its social networking component – once you’ve entered your books, you get to see everyone else’s via book titles, authors, and the tags you assign to each entry. Add a book to your catalog by just entering the title – it’s so easy that you don’t even need MARC record training to do it – or connect with other users through your similar reading tastes.

Not just for personal collections, schools and libraries have started using LibraryThing as well. Small schools are using LibraryThing to catalog their collections. According to their website, LibraryThing is “exploring relationships with schools and libraries, to offer non-commercially motivated recommendations and other social data.” As a result, they’ve created LibraryThing for Libraries. Libraries can add the LibraryThing widget to their web pages or blogs to recommend books and list new titles, or install a LibraryThing Search box (instructions are here). Being a non-commercial site makes LibraryThing a good option for school and libraries.

There are lots of ways to use LibraryThing. You can even view your books on a virtual shelf.

So why not join the ranks and create your own library online? With over 313,000 registered users (LibraryThing also has group forum for librarians) and 20 million books cataloged, you’re bound to discover something new.

Online Gradebooks

vtlibraryguy — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:10:48 +0000

There are advantages and distadvantages with online gradebooks. Online gradebooks such as Edline and Engrade allow parents complete and immediate access to their children’s grades, is this a privacy problem? Educators are not in agreement about this.

Some of the popular offerings are: TeacherEase, Engrade, Gradekeeper. Edline

Second Life

vtlibraryguy — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:35:44 +0000

1. What is the Second Life world?

Second Life is a 3D digital world imagined and created by its Residents.

The Second Life Grid enables students, educators, and businesses to create innovative environments for distance learning, computer-supported cooperative work, simulation, new media studies, and corporate training.

The Second Life Grid provides an opportunity to use simulation in a safe environment to enhance experiential learning, allowing individuals to practice skills, try new ideas, and learn from their mistakes. The ability to prepare for similar real-world experiences by using the Second Life Grid’s tools for simulation has unlimited potential.

Students and educators can work together on the Second Life Grid from anywhere in the world as part of a globally networked virtual classroom environment. Using the Second Life Grid as a supplement to traditional classroom environments also provides new opportunities for enriching an existing curriculum. Many universities and educational institutions are already using the Second Life Grid, and you can find an updated list of them here.

The future of education is best predicted by inventing it.

Explore Second Life

Blogger

vtlibraryguy — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:50:59 +0000

Blogger

Go to the Blogger website: www.blogger.com
(this will open in a separate window).
Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on
‘Create Your Blog Now.’
You’ll need to set up a Google Account to use Blogger – follow the instructions and click ‘continue.’
Create a Blog Title.
Create a Blog URL.
Select a style that appeals to you.
Bookmark the Blogger start page, as well as the URL for your blog.
Log out and log back in again – for practice.
Write a blog post. You can write about anything that you would be interested in other people reading. If you thought of a theme for your blog in the previous assignment, write something for that theme. You could also write about what you think of blogging so far.

To get back to your blog, to add future postings:

Go to your blog
Look to the top right corner of the screen and click on the ‘Sign In’ link
(If you’ve forgotten your blog URL, head to www.blogger.com and continue with the next step)
Look to the top right corner of the screen and click on the ‘New Blogger’ link
Log in with your Username and Password (these will be tied to the Google account you set up a few minutes ago)
Find your blog on the ‘Dashboard’ and click on it’s ‘New Post’ link
Blog away…

Once you’ve logged in you’ll also be able to change your blog settings – there’s a series of ‘Manage’ links in your ‘Dashboard.’