Collaboration+-+Technology+in+the+Classroom

Technology in the Classroom

SIX KEY TOOLS INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS Why You Need to Know It:  Interactive whiteboards are the most popular piece of technology being added to classrooms today.“Schools are investing in them, and teachers wantto learn to use them,” says Warlick. Where to Learn About It: Classroom 2.0 has seven separate forums about whiteboards, including how best to use them, the differences between various models, and a spirited discussion about whether wireless slates are a better classroom option. (http://[|www.classroom20.com/forum/topic/listfortag?tag=iboards])

TWITTER Why You Need to Know It:  It’s simply the fastest-growing Web 2.0 tool out there. “Twitter is one of the the most important tools I have been using … it is critical to my personal learning network as I connect and collaborate with colleagues from all over the world,” says Emily Vickery, an upper-school technology instructor and director of 21st Century Learning at Montgomery Academy in Montgomery, Ala. Where to Learn About It: [|http://t][|witter.com], of course. You can find out about the technology, see how to get started yourself, or just punch in an education search topic and see what people are saying—in 140 characters or less—about Arne Duncan, for instance. DIGITAL STORYTELLING Why You Need to Know It: **  It’s an interactive way for students to tell stories, learn collaboration, and even pick up some English skills along the way. Where to Learn About It: Visit the website Film on the Fly! ([]) to see how your students can join teacher Janet English’s worldwide mobile video challenges and go to Discovery’s website to find sample project ([]). SECOND LIFE Why You Need to Know It:  This virtualworld platform is already being used on college campuses and is starting to find its way into K–12 classrooms. Subjects can be enhanced with virtual lessons in an online world, says Stan Trevena, director of information and technology services for Modesto (Calif.) City Schools. Where to Learn About It: Start by checking out secondlife.com/whatis. Then read Elon University professor Megan Conklin's paper abouteducational applications of Second Life (binaryfootprint.blogspot.com/2007/02/megan-conklins-101-uses-for-second-life.html). WIKIS Why You Need to Know It:  “I am using a wiki as my main communication hub with my team,” says Margie Johnson, an instructionaltechnology specialist at Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools in Tennessee. “We post trainings and ongoing information there.” Where to Learn About It: Wetpaint Wikis in Education, a place where educators meet to share tips about using wikis to enhance the learning experience (wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/?t=anon). TEACHER TUBE Why You Need to Know It:  This two-year old site has a simple goal: to provide an online community to share instructional videos. Its success is startling: there are 220,000 regular users, more than 54,000 videos, and about 800,000 visitors every month. Where to Learn About It: The site works just like YouTube. To find out more, and sign up to receive a featured video in your email every morning, visit www.teachertube.com. **     ::      **  Wayne D’Orio is a freelance writer who has written about K–12 education for 10 years. He is also vice chairman of the Brookfield (Conn.) School District Board of Education.

Reprinted courtesy of Cable in the Classroom Magazine.