I first discovered Nings, specifically Classroom 2.0 in last summer of 2007. I think at that time there were just shy of 400 members. It was an incredible resource at that time, a very welcoming environment full of knowledgeable people who were willing to share their expertise, experiences, and offer advice on just about any topic. And now? This particular network boasts over 14,000 members!

Is it overwhelming? Absolutely, but if one takes the time to explore, there is much to find. My particular recommendation is to the tags on the right hand column (scroll down). You can search by tool, subject, and area. Each keyword brings up post after post that matches the tag. You can still spend a huge amount of time even after narrowing the focus, but it’s quite worthwhile. I count Classroom 2.0 as an important piece of my Personal Learning Network (PLN).

This isn’t the only Ning in which I am a member. This past summer, I joined the NECC 2007 Ning, which also became a great resource for me to keep up with the conference in San Antonio when I was stuck in Georgia unable to attend. I was able to find information about sessions, see pictures from the conference, and “hear” about the best NECC had to offer.

View my page on NECC 2008

Social networking is the center piece of my professional learning. Without the pieces that make it up, I would be at a great disadvantage. It is my network that I rely on to learn of new tools and trends in Educational Technology and how they are being applied in the classroom. Traditional professional learning courses are not plentiful enough nor available in a timely fashion, which makes my social networks all the more important to me.

Social networks definitely have an important place in the classroom as well. Students thrive in environments where they can communicate, share, and collaborate digitally. For those students who are particularly shy, the use of social network can be a means for them to branch out and make a valuable contribution that they may not have felt comfortable doing in a traditional classroom environment. Social networks can open students up to a wide variety of perspectives as they have the ability to connect with others across the state, United States, and internationally. For students who might never get the opportunity to travel much outside of their state or country, these opportunities can be invaluable learning experiences.

Visit Voicethread for Educators

After uploading my picture, the puzzle is created for you, and you are then given an embed code as well as other options. They offered quite a few embed code options, which I found to be useful given that my blog doesn’t leave a lot of space to embed something of this size. The code I chose allows the puzzle to overflow the space to the right.

When I played my puzzle online, there was timer that kept track of how long it took me to create my puzzle. As far as social aspects of the site, you can play puzzles other than the ones that you created and share your puzzle solving time with “buddies” who also create accounts. Other than that, I didn’t see many social opportunities. I would also have a difficult time finding educational applications for this site. I suppose if students uploaded their own artwork or photos they took, then they could put the puzzles together when there is “downtime” in the classroom – but when do we have that?

What my PLN Means Jigsaw Puzzle

Wordle was another option to explore, which I LOVE. This is a sample wordle that I created with the help of my PLN (Professional Learning Network). It’s the same Wordle that I used to create the puzzle above, but with different colors.

As far as the educational applications of Wordle, here are a couple:

1. Copy and paste student work into a wordle to identify repetitive words

2. Create an “about me” page, but pasting the student’s name in many times to ensure their name comes out large. Then descriptors, again adding them in several times, but not as many as the name so they appear smaller.

Speeches are another piece of text that are great to plug into a Wordle. You can see what the most common “themes” of a speech are because the more the word is repeated, the larger it is.

Since I’ve already been using Wordle, I decided to try a third Web 2.0 tool, Writeboard. It’s a site where you can create a document that can be edited and added to collaboratively. Once you create a writeboard, you’re ready to edit and then save it. After that step, you are provided a link to the write board which can be distributed along with your chosen password allowing others edit it as well. Probably the best thing about Writeboard is the fact that you do not have to create an account. I find this especially useful since it is sometimes difficult for students to create accounts because they a) don’t have an email or b) have an email but they can’t verify it at school in order to use the service.

The bad? I wish it had is an embed code. Also, two people cannot simultaneously edit the document or they will save over each other, much like a wiki. The third most obvious drawback is the fact that you have to use codes to bold, italicize, or underline.

Here is the link to my Writeboard and the password is trymeout.

As far as educational applications, I think a fun project that this could be used for is to create a chain story. The teacher could provide the start to the story and each student then add on. Students can also create a writeboard for school work and share the link and password with their teacher.

All in all, it’s free and for that price, it’s worth at least giving it a try.

For years, I have worked with teachers on specialized projects that culminated in their students publishing a web-page on a given topic. The students were very excited, not to mention incredibly motivated to put their best work together for their website. I wanted all of our students to have a similar experience, but due to the lack of software that we had access to in our district for publishing websites, we were limited in what we could accomplish. However, with Web 2.0 tools, those limits have essentially evaporated.

Our students can not only publish from any computer at any time, they now have the the means and opportunity to collaborate and communicate with other students that we were never able to give them before. This alone can effectively lower the classroom walls and broaden the educational experience for our kids, which is very exciting for me.

Web 2.0 tools have already made a huge difference in my professional practice. From the my first day of teaching high school French until a little over a year ago as an Educational Technologist, I worked basically in isolation. My only opportunities for networking or to learn from others in my field was at conferences and the occasional regional meetings that I might attend. This all changed when I began to utilize a variety of Web 2.0 tools to create my own Professional (Personal) Learning Network or PLN. Without these tools, I would not have a PLN that I could turn to.

What has my PLN done for me? Primarily, it has kept me abreast of emerging technologies and their potential for teaching and learning quicker than anything else. Oftentimes when I receive an issue of one of my educational technology magazines, I have already heard about much of the content from my PLN. They are a constant source of information, conversation, and collaboration that I have found to be invaluable.

On the most simple scale, these tools can be used to foster communication among our “digital learners”. As an example, there is a group of 3rd – 5th graders at one of the schools in my district and they are using their wiki to discuss ways to increase attendance in their school. Could this have been done in the classroom? Absolutely! However, the technology has been such a “hook” for these students that they amassed over 355 posts in a matter of days. It’s not possible for all of these students to come together face-to-face for this discussion, but through their wiki, they were able to not only offer their own ideas, but to comment on those of their classmates.

These tools are also magnificent for showcasing student creativity. Alan Levine’s 50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story showcases the variety of sites available that can be used for digital storytelling, which is an activity that can be utilized across the curriculum.

Why would we want to use these tools? There are many compelling reasons. Using Web 2.0 tools provides each student with an equal voice that is impossible to achieve in the classroom. For the child who is reluctant to raise their hand in class, they can let their thoughts be heard just as easily as any other child. For students who may not be able to demonstrate their learning in more traditional ways, these tools can foster their creative side, allowing them a different method of self-expression that is equally as, if not more compelling. These tools have the potential to promote higher order thinking skills, but above all they engage students in the curriculum in ways more traditional instruction cannot. That unreachable child in the back of the classroom can become an active participant through the use of these tools.

I already use these tools on a daily basis to support my own learning. I utilize my Google RSS reader to read through the blogs and wikis that I subscribe to. I use my social bookmarking tool, Diigo, to share resources with fellow educators. I use Nings and wikis for collaboration and discussion. I also engage in micro-blogging with Plurk and Twitter, which is where I learn of many of the other resources that I have found so valuable as well as other learning opportunities.

Image Source by Mike Monteiro (Creative Commons License: Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-Alike)