Social Bookmarking, a great Web 2.0 Tool

Social Bookmarking, wow what a great research and collaborative tool. As an educator I'm always sending colleagues links that I find are great or relevant, however, it's been a one-way street, I don't get too many back in return. After exploring delicious.com I was hooked, I found a community of learners who bookmark and tag sites that are relevant to my own interest and research. The big misconception is that most people think, "Oh I know how to bookmark," well this app is an eyeopener, and full of potential so don't pass it over. Using delicious.com is wonderfully simple and Diigo.com another bookmarking site has wonderful features that let you categorize your lists of bookmarks, allowing you to refine and categorize your searches and information even more. I will be setting up a group or two with my teaching colleagues in the near future as a educational resource, enabling collaboration and sharing of information.

So how do you use social bookmarking in the classroom? You could probably Google that and create a bookmark and tags to start collecting ideas, making it easy on yourself, why do the work if it's already been done. Being an art educator I would use this as a classroom research tool. What a fabulous way to introduce a period of painting. Set up a social bookmarking site, create a buddy group or limit who can view the bookmarks and tags to protect your students, then let them loose. They can all explore the web for relevant sites, bookmark and tag them. By creating a research tool for the period of art; such as Impressionism, Fauvism, or Contemporary Art, students will easily gather information for a project, wiki, blog, or presentation regarding the information collected. Students will be using their Research and Information Fluency skills a NETS standard by evaluating, locating, and organizing sources and information using digital tools and technology in the classroom.
I hope you enjoy and discover the potential this super Web 2.0 Tool has to offer.

Web 2.0 RSS and Other Feed Readers in Education

So what are the benefits of using RSS or Feed Readers in education you might ask like I did. Well being the curious person that I am I went out searching for what I can do with this Web 2.0 tool and found some great ideas and resources. Adding the RSS Feeds to my blogs was a few clicks and they were up just add it under gadget on your design template.
Feeds are great for gathering research, especially if you set up an interesting activity or research topic that once subscribed to feeds will gather information until you are ready to implement it into your curriculum. Feeds give you the information you are searching for as opposed to you having to sift through information being pushed out to you. Feeds are also a fantastic way to monitor student blogs or your favorite education or technology news feeds or blogs. Using feeds in the classroom integrates NETS-S Standard of using "Creativity and Innovation."  Feeds encourage learners to use existing knowledge and apply it to a new process while identifying trends regarding the topic they are exploring. NETS-S Standard of "Research and Information Fluency" is also integrated when the learners strategically guide their inquiry by collecting information and acquiring knowledge through the use of feeds.
So use this great Web 2.0 tool to its full potential and FEED those hungry minds in your classroom.

Exploring and Creating Wikis

Exploring the vast amount of wikis and wiki resources on the web gives one an endless supply of ideas and classroom applications. Wikis offer the best  Web 2.0 tool for collaboration. Collaboration of research, ideas, resources, and ideas or interests by many individuals, groups, or classes is easily achieved by creating  a wiki. Home room teachers can create a classroom news Wiki to encourage students to collaborate on what they are learning or working on in class. The first Wiki I created was based on a famous artist, the idea being to put up some information myself and have the students get involved in adding additional information to create and in depth look at the artist life, art and body of work. The next Wiki I created is a "Learn to Draw" wiki. I always have students finishing art projects at various times and I want them to continue learning independently while I help the rest of the class finish. I have a center in my room for them to use learn to draw books independently. So I though what a great idea for a Wiki. They can use the resources and also post new ideas, resources, and videos to use as a self-guided practice if they finish a lesson prior to their peers. The Wiki I created incorporates the NETS standard of having students use technology effectively and productively as well as encouraging students to communicate and collaborate using a great Web 2.0 tool.

Check out my LEARN TO DRAW WIKI
http://learntodraw.pbworks.com/w/page/40604075/FrontPage

My Exploration of Blogs

I loved creating my blog using Blogger it was very easy and fun to create. I enjoyed the options to be artistic with the design of the blog it’s colors, theme, and gadgets allowed me to express my personality through my blog which I feel is important.  I have several ideas for how I will use blogs with my students. For the display and discussion of student artworks. Art extension activities and to meet NAEA (National Art Education Association) standards of Art Criticism, Art History, and Aesthetics. In art education one of our standards is Art Criticism; which is teaching students how to look at art and respond to the artwork regarding what they see, how it makes them feel and what artistic elements and principals of design were used to create the artwork. I will use blogging to create an art criticism activity that will show examples of works of art, artists, and videos of their work to engage the students in a meaningful reflection of their response to that particular artwork of body of work of a particular artist. This type of blogging experience would incorporate the NETS Students standards 2.Communication and Collaboration, a, b, and c  and 6.Technology Operations and Concepts, a, c, and d.   I also would like to create a blog that has activities, which allow for the differentiation of learning styles through interactive blogging activities. I feel the greatest challenge teachers and districts face is availability of resources for technology and also having enough bandwidth to support students blogging and watching videos of art like I desire. I have this problem currently where YouTube just spools and the students can’t watch the video about the artist I have chosen.

Tips For Teaching Students Blogging Etiquette

Students need instruction on how to safely and respectfully create a thoughtful blog response. I find one way of getting students to create a thoughtful response is to give them an example or a requirement such as 2-5 complete sentences are required for a response which addresses the topic or question.

These are resources I find helpful for Blogging Etiquette, in addition I created a poster which hangs above my computer area in my classroom.

Links
Blog Rules for the Classroom

How Blogging Can Enrich Learning

Blogging can enrich learning by putting the learners in a more constructivist type of learning environment. Students can discover knowledge and opinions about the information they are seeking to acquire. Blogging creates a two way street for the taking and imparting of knowledge. I fell students value the opinions of others especially their peers and like reading what others have said regarding a common subject.

The following is a list of links with ideas of how to incorporate blogging into your curriculum.

Blogging 101

Blogs in Education

Web 2.0 in the Classroom

Educational Value of Blogs in Classrooms

Discovery Education

Blogging in the Classroom