Middle Grades

Dipity offers the opportunity to create an interactive timeline where students can display events and organize activities. Students can import videos and pictures to display moments in time or plans for the future.

This document provides information about the following:

1. How to learn to use Google Docs
2. Ideas for using Google Doc in the classroom
3. Security concerns about Google Docs & Suggestions
4. New Features

August 4, 2008
Nova Stars Presentation Materials

This is an outline of a Moodle presentation that was prepared and delivered at the VTCite Summer Institute (2008) by Maria Germano, Bryant Pless and Joanne Finnegan. There is a link to a YouTube video that explains what Moodle is, ideas for using Moodle and includes links to resources for using and teaching with Moodle. Warning: Some of the links go to a private moodle site and will not work!

Here is a presentation (in .pdf format) on how to use YouTube, as well as possible uses and implications in education.

This site provides science lessons plans using podcasts and videos. Resources also include a site for students to blog, podcast links and wiki links. There are many experiments provided, magazine articles that students can access and read. Numerous lessons plans are provided with extensive supports for students and teachers.

A great site where you will be able to access generators, to include all types of assessments and activities. You will also find student links that allow students to create projects and store their information online.

Blip TV is an alternative to YouTube and is also a web based resource where students can create their own "show" on the web. It can host movies as well as video podcasts. It is easy to use and works great! I have used it for two years.

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.

If you want to use Second Life as an avenue to collaborate with other educators, this site will help you get started. You will find resources, tutorials, and folks to contact.