Using Web 2.0 and Social Media to Encourage Deeper Learning

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Task Navigation 

Week 1 - Social Task (Oct 3-9, 2011)

We want to get to know you. Take a few minutes to answer the following questions about yourself. Feel free to add anything extra you want to share. Be colorful, be creative.

  1. Name, subject you teach or role in your school, email address and other contacts you wish to share (e.g. Twitter, IM, Skype, etc.)  
  2. I’m participating in this course for the sake of...
  3. I’m relying on my colleagues in this course to...
  4. My colleagues in this course can count on me to...
  5. An interesting fact about me is...

Task Discussion


  • Jennifer Claro   Oct. 6, 2011, 4:33 p.m.

     

    My name is Jennifer Claro. I teach English as a Foreign Language to Japanese university students (mostly engineering majors). Please e-mail me using the P2PU system. I tweet @jenclaro but infrequently these days.

     

    I’m participating in this course because I’m amazed by how social media is changing the way we get access to resources. I think that my students will benefit from Web 2.0 as much as I have. I want to try out lots of ideas in here and work them thru before creating a Web 2.0 program for my students. Actually, my goal is to help them to create their own Personal Learning Environment for learning English, and Web 2.0 will be a large part of that.

     

    I’m relying on my peers to give me critical feedback on my posts and I promise to do the same. I’m a little worried about time. I’m a working mom doing a Ph.D. and there will be days that I won’t have time to contribute here. I’m sorry about that. But I’ll do my best to keep up.

     

    An interesting fact about me is that I currently have 14 varieties of tomatoes growing outside and in a greenhouse. Yum!! They come from all over the world, from Siberia to France, thru a French organization called Kokopelli, which specializes in organic heritage seed cultivation. And maybe it’s interesting that we speak two languages at home, French (my husband) and English (me), and Japanese outside (we live in Hokkaido, northern Japan). It means our sons (10 and 5) are growing up with 3 languages (I wish I had! :)

  • María José Torres Maldonado   Oct. 6, 2011, 2:19 p.m.

     

    Hi everyone!!

    My name is María José Torres M. I'm a systems engineer. I work as TIC administrator at Faculty of Philosofy, Letters and Educational Sciens at Universidad de Cuenca.

    I'm participating in this course for the sake of getting skills for giving support to the teachers and students from my institution. Also, I want to support in the best way my kids at school.

    I’m relying on my colleagues in this course to have a nice experience of being involve in a auto-learning enviroment. Share some experiences that could improve our knowledge about social media and education. Get any kind of critics about my posts.

    My colleagues in this course can count on me to share my experiences as a TIC administrator and as student of an e-learning máster i'm coursing.

    An interesting fact about me is that english isn't my first language, so i apologize since now if i make mistakes in my posts.

     

    Majo.

  • Jennifer Claro   Oct. 6, 2011, 4:46 p.m.
    In Reply To:   María José Torres Maldonado   Oct. 6, 2011, 2:19 p.m.

    Hi Maria!

    Are you in Cuenca, Ecuador? (Apparently there is another Cuenca in Spain.) I really want to travel to South America. So many amazing things are happening there these days. 

    Also, you're a systems engineer? Wow. I'm extremely interested in systems and networks. I'm reading now about small world networks (Watts) and weak links (Granovetter) etc. and it's fascinating. But I think I'll have to learn a lot more math to really get into it!

    I share your interest in an auto-learning, and in supporting my kids in their learning. I look forward to learning with you in this course.

    Cheers,

    Jennifer

    P.S. - Your English is great! :)

  • Hanna   Oct. 5, 2011, 2:16 p.m.
    1. Hello all! My name is Hanna Coleman, and I am from Ramsey, Minnesota which is a suburb of Minneapolis. I am in my fifth year of teaching and second year at a hybrid online high school which primarily serves at-risk students. We have a campus which our students come to on Tuesdays and Thursdays to work online, meet with teachers, and participate in various activities. I teach science, primarily Chemistry and Physical Science. I also am the Moodle (our learning management system) coordinator and am on various committees, due to the size and nature of our school. My email address: hcoleman@chisagolakes.k12.mn.us
    2. I'm participating in this course because I am constantly looking for ways to broaden my teaching and the learning for my students. As an online teacher, I desire to be on the cutting-edge of technology and utilizing modern tools and resources online.  I write a lot of science curriculum and am hoping to incorporate what I learn in this class to my curriculum. I am curious and excited to see how social media tools and web 2.0 tools can enhance and deepen student learning. I also enjoy learning and meeting new people!
    3. I'm relying on my colleagues in this course to be open to new ideas and to share their strengths and knowledge with us. I hope that we can work together to develop new insights on this topic and learn from each other.
    4. My colleagues in this course can count on me to contribute thoughtfully to discussion and activities, to be respectful of each others' thoughts, and to bring my experiences to our learning.
    5. An interesting fact about me is I taught in Beijing, China for a school year with my husband. I don't speak Chinese, as we were at an International School which primarily served South Korean students. I loved this experience and hope to go back in the future!
  • Anna   Oct. 6, 2011, 7:57 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Hanna   Oct. 5, 2011, 2:16 p.m.

    Welcome!

    Chris and I visited Beijing two summers ago and visited a number of education institutions. I was amazed at the emphasis put on education in Beijing. During that trip I learned that there is a shortage of pre-schools and kindergardens. So, many companies are rushing in to fill the gaps. The challenge is making a quality education experience. One of the schools we visited was experimenting with using video games to help teach young children movement (Wii fit) and English. It was neat to see the children respond.

    What are the biggest differences between your experience teaching in China and in the USA? Chris and I used to teach in Osaka, Japan. We were in a school that was trying to use "play" as a method of teaching English to young children - think no desks, lots of role playing, toys, etc. For older kids the schools was experimenting with karaoke English lessons - which kids loved. Thinking back on this experience, I wish I had seen data to compare the vocab learning of teens in the karaoke class versus the more "traditional" classes.

    You may find these videos of schools from around the world of interest:

    http://www.pearsonfoundation.org/oecd/

    From Dubai,

    Anna

  • cinmil   Oct. 3, 2011, 11:16 p.m.
    1. Hello!  My name is Cindy Miller.  I am online instructor for Texas Tech University Independent School District.  I teach online business and information technology courses for 9th-12th grade students.  I get to meet all types of students across our state and nation, which is a wonderful opportunity and blessing.  I can be reached at clamiller1991@gmail.com; Twitter: @cmillerttuisd; and at www.linkedin.com/in/clamiller.
    2. I'm participating in this course for the sake of learning new ideas and methods for keeping students engaged and more participative in the online courses I currently teach.
    3. I'm relying on my colleagues in this course to serve as a resource for learning new social media teaching techniques/ideas that can be utlized in online courses.
    4. My colleagues in this course can count on me to share my teaching and learning experiences with any of the social media tools that I have used in my online courses with success.
    5. An interesting fact about me is that I love the outdoors and spending time in the mountains without technology.  I guess it's my way to get lost without anyone finding me until it's absolutely necessary.
  • Anna   Oct. 6, 2011, 8:02 a.m.
    In Reply To:   cinmil   Oct. 3, 2011, 11:16 p.m.

    Hi Cindy.

    I'd love to learn how you are currently using social media with your students. Also, have you done much with film (Flips/editing) or iPads? Chris and I are currently working on a project that uses film and social media to bring teacher training to remote regions of the desert and islands in the Middle East.

    I also love the outdoors as well (especially the beach) - as a tech person, it is always good to find time to unplug!

    Sincerely,

    Anna

  • cinmil   Oct. 9, 2011, 1:53 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Anna   Oct. 6, 2011, 8:02 a.m.

    I have a twitter account just for my online students that I used to introduce additional resources for them and they are able to share any resources they find as well during the course. I'm really restricted in setting up any other outside social media opportunities because the school I work for wants to see all interactions with students in the online course alone.  Although they do have the capability of following me in the twitter account.

    In one of my online courses, students develop a digital video portfolio based on the information they learned and developed during the course.  I'm not sure if this is what you are asking for because they will edit their video throughout the course as they add to and take away things they want to include in their final digital video portfolio.  Some are using movie maker and others are using iMovie, as well as other online video platforms and editing tools.

    As far as iPads, I have not included any aspect of them in my online courses due to seeing a majority of students not having access to them.  However, in the twitter account, there are a few students who will ask me if I know of any iPad apps they could use for certain information that they learned in the course and want to use on their own.

  • Anna   Oct. 10, 2011, 5:13 a.m.
    In Reply To:   cinmil   Oct. 9, 2011, 1:53 p.m.

    Thanks Cindy.

    Are any of the student video portfolio examples "live"? I'd love to see them.

  • Anna   Oct. 2, 2011, 2:54 p.m.

    1. Hello. I'm Anna Batchelder co-facilitator of this course and co-founder of Bon Education (Chris Batchelder is the other co-facilitator and co-founder). I spend my time leading ICT teacher trainings across the Gulf and online, as well as working on a number of edtech course and product development initiatives. To see an example of the teacher PD sessions we lead in the Middle East, watch this short video.

      1. To contact me, feel free to email me on P2PU. I can also be reached on Twitter @bon_education.

    2. I’m participating in this course to meet other people around the globe that are passionate about using social media with students to engage in research, dialog and learning. I also love the open and peer-focused ethos of P2PU. I've been involved in open education projects (such as FreeReading and Curriki) for over 5 years. It is great to see an open school of education project come to life!

    3. I’m relying on my colleagues in this course to participate each week, ask questions, share insights, work together on their kits and try new things in the classroom.

    4. My colleagues in this course can count on me to facilitate dialog (I will be on P2PU a few times a week to do this), share insights based on my experiences teaching with social media across the Middle East and North America and to ask questions.

    5. An interesting fact about me is that I am trying to learn how to do head and handstands in yoga. I do so much on the computer these days, its nice to take on a challenge away from a screen :-).

  • Jeff Stutzman   Oct. 1, 2011, 1:04 p.m.

     

    1. Hi to everyone. I'm Jeff Stutzman, and I am a high school English teacher (freshmen) from Elkhart, Indiana. I teach at Concord High School and my classes include all ability levels-from the Honors level course to a "Lab" class that includes students who struggle passing our state standardized test. 

    2. Best ways to reach me:  email-jeff.stutzman@gmail.com  Twitter: INdebatecoach  Google+: +jeffstutzman (I think--still playing with Google +)

    3. I’m participating in this course because I'm interested in completely revamping my classes to offer students assignments that will not only teach them the English skills they need, but also the digital literacy skills they need.

    4. I’m relying on my colleagues in this course to give me some cool ideas and teach me what is going on in education outside of the standardized test bubble that is known as Indiana (and most other states as well).
    5. My colleagues in this course can count on me to offer ideas and participate.
    6. An interesting fact about me is that my father grew up in the Amish tradition (but never joined the Amish church) so I did NOT grow up Amish, but I still have Amish relatives who I am quite close to.
  • Anna   Oct. 6, 2011, 8:08 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Jeff Stutzman   Oct. 1, 2011, 1:04 p.m.

    Thanks Jeff.

    You mention "revamping" your course. Can you talk a bit about your current class? How is technology being used now. This will be helpful in terms of offering ideas for how to change the class.

    Its been a while since I visited Indiana. I did my freshman year at IU as a viola performance major, but then changed majors so I went back in state to VA. I have fond memories of Indiana though :-).

    Welcome to our course!

    Anna

  • Nbhandari24   Sept. 30, 2011, 2:28 p.m.

    My names Natasha Bhandari and I am a Masters students at Harvard doing International Education Policy

    I am currently taking a class at Harvard called 'Networked Learning' which is precisely about utilizing the online medium to promote deeper learning and a better understanding. I'm participating in this course to analyze the theory I'm learning and am being exposed to in the classroom to practice. Quite excited about that!! I'm also interning with Anna and Chris at Bon Education.
     

    I'm relying on all of you to be subjects I can study and analzy - just kidding! I'm really keen to understand where your experiences have brought you to partake in this and where as experienced teachers (for the most of you) you feel like networked environments/social meedia/etc can be utilized.
     

    You can count on me to be engaged!
     

    An interesting fact about me is that my name is Russian and I am orginially from India!
     

  • Bob Lamons   Sept. 30, 2011, 10:06 a.m.

     

    1. Bob Lamons - I teach Geosystems (an updated Earth Science with GIS) in an online school.  Been teaching completely online for 8 years now.  
    2. I’m participating in this course for the sake of learning new ways to engage and educate students.
    3. I’m relying on my colleagues in this course to show this old guy new ways of doing things.
    4. My colleagues in this course can count on me to recall how it worked in the old days.
    5. An interesting fact about me is I am a knitter.
  • Anna   Oct. 6, 2011, 8:12 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Bob Lamons   Sept. 30, 2011, 10:06 a.m.

    Knitting. Rock on! What do you knit?

    I may have to teach a course this fall with Bing maps. I am quite familiar with Google maps. Are you using Bing at all to do mapping activities? Have you come across any great blogs/websites with ideas of using GPS/online maps? I suppose I should ask my sister as well. She is a geospacial analyst focusing on sattelite map images.

    Have you done much with "online check-in" apps or QR codes with your students? Nora (our blogger at Bon Education) wrote about this recently here if you are interested.

    Welcome to this course!

    Anna

  • Mireille   Sept. 29, 2011, 10:16 p.m.

    Hello everyone

    My name is Mireille (said like Me-Ray)  I live in Canada and Tony I actually know where Abu Dhabi is.  There was a person from Abu Dhabi (he was from the US) that was a part of my course I took last year.  We Skyped each other often when we had to collaborate on a project. 

    I'm participating in the course because I'm curious and I'm interested in what other teachers are doing and how they are doing it.  I learn a lot from the educational field.  My sister teaches at risk kids in a highschool in Montreal Quebec.

    • I’m relying on my colleagues in this course to..to share their experiences, and resources
    • My colleagues in this course can count on me to... same as above.
    • An interesting fact about me is... I'm a VP of International Training in the corporate world and I'm on sabbatical. 
  • Nbhandari24   Sept. 30, 2011, 2:30 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Mireille   Sept. 29, 2011, 10:16 p.m.

    I actually studied in Montreal for college - I went to McGill! Where is the neighborhood your sister teaches?

  • Anna   Oct. 6, 2011, 8:14 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Mireille   Sept. 29, 2011, 10:16 p.m.

    Welcome. Since you know where Abu Dhabi is, I suspect you know where Dubai is (where Chris and I are based). 

    How are you currently using social media in your corporate trainings? Are there particular topics/areas you'd like to explore in this course as they pertain to corporates?

    Thanks for joining our course!

    Anna

  • Tony Allan   Sept. 29, 2011, 12:33 p.m.

    1.Name, subject you teach or role in your school, email address and other contacts you wish to share (e.g. Twitter, IM, Skype, etc.)

    My name is Tony Allan, an Australian living in Abu Dhabi.  I have actually changed job roles just this week and I no longer teach.  In Abu Dhabi things tend to happen quickly. I was teaching vocational business to indigenous UAE nationals (Emirati). Which is a fantastic experience. For anyone who does not know Dubai is in the UAE (Dubai being well known should give a picture of where I am) I am still in Education, now cirriculum and assessment development. My twitter account is abudhabitony and email is abudhabitony@gmail.com. Blog: http://blog.une.edu.au/vocationalelearning/

    I’m participating in this course for the sake of...There are at least 3 reasons why I am doing this course. 1) To experience an online learning community for the first time. 2) I am doing a uni course on elearning and I hope that this course will help me answer a few assignment. 3) I want to gauge what teachers are doing with technology in schools and determine what is really working.

    I’m relying on my colleagues in this course to... connect, understand, share and discuss.

    My colleagues in this course can count on me to... if all are school teachers, then you can count on me to offer a slightly alternative perspective. Sometime I will be quite simply wrong but other times I might challenge the way you think just because my world is a little different.  Also if I find links that I think others might be interested in I will share:  For example there is a free lecture in a couple of days at: http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/629533-conversation-with-dr-michael-goldrick-researcher-author-and-teacher

    An interesting fact about me is... I enjoy travelling and exploring different cultures.  I was fortunate enough to get to both Bahrain and Syria in the 6 months before they suffered the consequence of the Arab spring.

  • Harry B   Sept. 26, 2011, 6:12 p.m.

     

    1. Hola!  I am Harry Brake, born and raised a Steeler, Pennguins, Pirates Fan in Pennsylvania, where I taught for 6 years.  I moved to Delaware and taught six more and still have a home there (love the beaches)!
    2. I moved this pasy July to Mexico City where I currently teach at American School Foundation in Mexico City as Media Specialist and as Librarian.  I love MEXICO!  We are ready to embark on a literary magazine here at ASF and that will be another venture!
    3.   I have a Twitter account which is Harry Brake@Michigan01 (I love the Michigan Wolverines!) I am failing to see the usefulness of a twitter account and maybe my views will change with this, I do have my blog tied into the twitter, so that is good?  lol.  My wordpress blog is attached as a link above.  I want to be able to do those more professionally and add more attaractability to my blog!  :)  I am only getting into pictures and videos now with my blog, but want to use it as personal and professional if possible. 
    4. By participatng in this course I felt I would do even better in helping others do blogs easier, as well as improve mine.   I know mine, well, I stuggled to understand how wordpress was to set it upo, and had major problems with blogger, so the startup understand for me was very difficult.
    5. Just as in a conference, I hope my colleagues will help present better ways of thinking and new perspectves I did not, or faled to catch.
    6. I hope to be counted on to bring new ideas as wel as many new ways to reach people via a blog.
    7. Interesting fact, I love MEXICO even though I have bee living and working in the states for a long time, also, I am one of 16 kids (and I am not Mormon, lol)....My great great great uncle was Art Rooney Sr, who owned the Steelers, so yes, Pittsburgh Pride rusn deep but I live for the theme of a steel family and remember the Steelers and the Iron Defense  :)   I love the traditions of the Steelers!  :)  

    I look forward to seeing everyone in an exciting venture!

    :)

    Harry Brake

    harrybrake@yahoo.com

    brakeh@asf.edu.mx

     

     

     

  • kmease   Sept. 26, 2011, 8:50 a.m.

    Kim Mease---Computer Lab TA in Dansville, NY... where the leaves are beginning to change and there's now a "feeling" of fall in the air (despite our 80 degree day yesterday!).

    My email address is measek@dansvillecsd.org

    I'm excited about this pilot program and being able to participate. I don't fully understand Web 2.0 and need to find out more so that I can bring it back to my co-workers and administration.

    I've been working with computers since the days of DOS and I'm very glad I learned that way... makes everything today make more sense, and I appreciate the windows environment!!!

  • Anonym   Sept. 26, 2011, 7:55 a.m.

     

     
    1. My name is Wes Brown and I teach 8th grade World History at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, NC. My email address is wbrown@ravenscroft.org and my twitter name is @wesb88. As a first year teacher, I haven't yet started any extracurricular involvement but do plan to get involved within the coming months. 
    2. I'm participating in this course for the sake of improving my own knowledge of social media and how it can be used in the classroom to enhance student learning. 
    3. I'm relying on colleagues in thise course to provide feedback of their own successes and failures in this field. 
    4. My colleagues in this course can count on me to provide feedback on various topics we discuss throughout the course and provide my won knowledge of how I use social netowrking in my class. 
    5. An interesting fact about me is that I grew up in Raleigh, NC, went to college in Raleigh, NC and am now working in Raleigh, NC. 
  • MsEstep   Sept. 26, 2011, 12:06 p.m.
    In Reply To:   Anonym   Sept. 26, 2011, 7:55 a.m.

    Wes, I love Raleigh! I've been there a couple of times for shows. Are you familiar with the music of American Aquarium? They're out of Raleigh...I love them!

  • Anonym   Sept. 26, 2011, 12:59 p.m.
    In Reply To:   MsEstep   Sept. 26, 2011, 12:06 p.m.

    I unfortunately am not familar with American Aquarium but will definitely look them up. Raleigh is a great place to live. It was actually just named number 1 city to live in by Businessweek. http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/which-is-americas-best-city-09202011.html

  • Harry B   Oct. 16, 2011, 11:48 p.m.
    In Reply To:   MsEstep   Sept. 26, 2011, 12:06 p.m.

    Hola!  This is Harry from our Week 2 Group!  We have alot to go over, wow!  Let me know if tomorrow is good to meet, say 6:00 PM? Skype?  Thanks so much!

     

    Mwah!

     

    Harry

  • Alex   Sept. 26, 2011, 4:35 a.m.

    1.Name, subject you teach or role in your school, email address and other contacts you wish to share (e.g. Twitter, IM, Skype, etc.)

    Hi my name is Alex Window and I am a teacher in Mount Gambier, South Australia, Australia. I currently teach special education to a group of students ranging from 13 to 19 years old. My email is winda64@gmail.com, twitter is teach_al and that is about all my current contact information, I am trying out google plus and would love someone to add me on there so I can work out how to actually use, as im getting a little tired of facebook.

    I’m participating in this course for the sake of...Improving my knowledge of web2.0 an deeper learning as well as, giving me more ideas to implement in my role as key teacher of ICT at my school, where there are 125 staff. I have participated in a number of profession development courses related to web2.0 and have not really been pushed so far, I feel that this course may push me.

    I’m relying on my colleagues in this course to...push my understanings of ICTs in education and web2.0.

    My colleagues in this course can count on me to... be very creative and wake you up very early in the morning as im on the other side of th world to many of you :)

    An interesting fact about me is... that I have never been outside of Australia, and I love the ocean and everything related to it!

  • Christopher Batchelder   Sept. 26, 2011, 5:05 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Alex   Sept. 26, 2011, 4:35 a.m.

    I love the ocean too!  We are lucky to living within walking distance of a nice beach.  We have never been to Australia though  -  we'd love to visit some day soon.  We're based in Dubai so we're halfway between you and the others in North America so no worries about waking us.  

  • Christopher Batchelder   Sept. 26, 2011, 5:11 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Christopher Batchelder   Sept. 26, 2011, 5:05 a.m.

    I'm having trouble finding @teachal on twitter.  Is it a protected account under the name AFLewis? 

  • Alex   Sept. 26, 2011, 7:51 a.m.
    In Reply To:   Christopher Batchelder   Sept. 26, 2011, 5:11 a.m.

    Sorry actually it is teach_al not teachal. sorry about that :)