Edu 2.0

Edu 2.0 is located at www.edu20.org

Edu 2.0 is a unique site founded in 2006 by Graham Glass. It is a free online service where you can host an entire class, enroll in public classes, share resources or have a dialogue in an online community.

How was the technology integrated into the assessment environment?

Edu 2.0 is a simplified version of Moodle, Blackboard, etc. It is completely web-based. An educator can privately enroll students and then host a diverse group of assessment tools including quizzes, wiki's, blogs, forums, chats, debates, and feeds. A gradebook, calendar and other tools are also available.

-What method (observation, selected response, written response, personal communication, performance, student reflection) of assessments were implemented using the technology? (Questions, see Stuart chapter ?)

Most, if not all, of these assessments could be implemented using this technology.

Was this a technology that replaced a current method of assessment or does it provide assessment opportunities previously not available without the advent of this technology. (For an in depth discussion of this, refer to the NAP article)

This technology could potentially replace move many traditional assessments online which would save an enormous amount of time for educators.

In your opinion, what were some of the benefits of the tool?

The benefits of this technology are numerous, but among other things it's free! It is also very easy to learn and use, I created a mock class in about 5 minutes. The other incredible part of Edu 2.0 is sharing resources, any lesson you submit is archived and usable by the other thousands of educators on the site. What an incredible way to create an online community of professionals sharing work?

In your opinion, what are the limitations of the tool?

So far I haven't found many. The quiz generator takes a while to write a quiz, but the payback for the educator is in the grading time. I also noticed that I can't "preview" the actual pages that students would be using. For example the only way that I've found to preview a quiz that I've written is to create a fake name and enroll in my own class. Anyone who has given written directions to a teenager knows that the format in which they're delivered is very important. I'm not so sure how easy it would be for a traditional classroom student to adjust to a complete online class.

Do you see this as a tool that could be used in your educational setting?

I've got plans to use it next year, assuming that there is sufficient hardware in the classroom, the school, and the home to give students equitable access to their schoolwork.

Where did you learn about the tool (formal evaluation reports, vender case studies, etc.)?

I learned about the tool from our school's technology PLC group.