Blogs, Wikis, Facebook, and More Instructional Uses for the Classroom

Blogs, Wikis, Facebook, and More
Instructional Uses for the Classroom
Reenay R. H. Rogers
University of West Alabama
Blog
“a Web site that contains an online
personal journal with reflections,
comments, and often hyperlinks
provided by the writer”
Merriam-Webster Online
How can a classroom teacher use a blog?

Communicate with parents and students
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Presentation format for projects
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Storage for content information

Resource for professional growth
Classroom Blogs
http://mscassidysclass.edublogs.org/
 http://huzzah.edublogs.org/
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Get Started with EduBlog!
◦ http://edublogs.org/curriculum-corner-classblogs/
Dr. Rogers’ Physics Class Blog

http://titanphysics.blogspot.com/
Physics student posted their reports.
Classmates then posted their
comments.
Required writing one large post each
term
 Required weekly reading of classmates’
posts

Teacher Professional Growth
Special Ed Blog
http://digitalanthology.blogspot.com/
 Technology Tips
http://thespian70.blogspot.com/
 Science Blog
http://www.sciencefix.com/
 Library Media Specialists
http://blog.cathyjonelson.com/

Wiki
“a web site that allows anyone
to add, delete, or revise content
by using a web browser”
(Dictionary.com)
http://cyber-kap.blogspot.com/2011/05/top-10-sites-for-creating-wiki.html
Who should use wikis?

Wikis are for everyone!
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Students
Teachers
Administrators
Athletic Teams
Clubs
Anyone who wants to publish or share
information on the Web
Where do you find wikis?
Wikispaces
www.wikispaces.com
Where do you find wikis?
PBWorks
www.pbworks.com
Where do you find wikis?
 Google
Sites
https://sites.google.com/
Where do you find wikis?

WET PAINT- Educational Wikis
http://wikisineducation.wetpaint.com/
Example Wikis
http://aetcrogerssam.wikispaces.com/
 http://physicstrebuchet.wikispaces.com/home
 http://syphilistuskegeestudy.wikispaces.co
m/Tuskegee+Syphilis+Study+Introduction
 http://patriots-inmotion.wikispaces.com/home
 https://sites.google.com/site/holyspiritsocc
er/

Facebook for the Classroom???

Great for class projects
◦ Gets students to use a familiar social tool to
present school work

Super communication tool
◦ Communicate with parents and teachers with
a private group
◦ Easy to update
◦ Parents/students check frequently
“FAKEBOOKS”
Choose a scientist of historical
importance.
 Create a “FakeBook page for this scientist.
http://www.classtools.net/fb/home/page
 Example:
http://www.classtools.net/FB/1532gRVvvA

Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Birthday February 11, 1847* Hometown Milan, Ohio* Relationship Status Married to Mina Miller Sex Male
Thomas Edison
Currently trying to improve the telegraph transmitter…I’ve just realized that the tape of the machine gives off a noise
resembling spoken words when you play it at a high speed. Interesting…
Thomas Edison
I am going to try create a phonograph using a metal cylinder with tin foil wrapped around it..
Bio
As a child, I liked spending my time
reading at the local library. I was
homeschooled for a few years before
I got my first job selling newspapers.
In 1868 I began my career as an
inventor in Boston.
Friends (1,346)
Alexander
Graham Bell
Henry Ford
How are you going to get your machine to work?
Thomas Edison
Well the machine will play cylinders rather than discs and have two needles; one for recording and one for playback
The idea is that when you speak into a mouthpiece, the sound vibrations will be dented onto the cylinder by the
recording needle in a vertical hollow pattern.
Henry Ford
Sounds promising. Keep us updated.
Albert Einstein
John KruesI
Hey Tom. I’m almost done building the phonograph from your sketches. You can come test it soon!
Nikola Tesla
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Birthday February 11, 1847* Hometown Milan, Ohio* Relationship Status Married to Mina Miller Sex Male
John Kruesl
Hey Tom. I’m almost done building the phonograph from your sketches. You can come test it soon!
Thomas Edison
IT WORKS! My phonograph just played back “Mary had a little lamb!” I would say it’s been a pretty good day.
Bio
As a child, I liked spending my time
reading at the local library. I was
homeschooled for a few years before
I got my first job selling newspapers.
In 1868 I began my career as an
inventor in Boston.
Friends (1,346)
Alexander
Graham Bell
Thomas Edison
I’ve just been invited to the White House to demonstrate my phonograph to President Rutherford B. Hayes.
Thomas Edison
Tired of using candles to see? Well I am working on improving incandescent light, and who knows, maybe we will all
have electric power soon!
J.P. Morgan
Mr. Edison I would like to fund your inventions and talk about the prospect of an electric company.
Albert Einstein
Thomas Edison
After performing over 1000 experiments and endless search, I’ve finally found the perfect filament. I have created a light
bulb using carbonized filaments from cotton thread.
Nikola Tesla
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Birthday February 11, 1847* Hometown Milan, Ohio* Relationship Status Married to Mina Miller Sex Male
Thomas Edison
After performing over 1000 experiments and endless search, I’ve finally found the perfect filament. I have created a light
bulb using carbonized filaments from cotton thread. It is super practical for home use!
Thomas Edison
People of lower Manhattan, get ready for the world’s first electric light power station.
Bio
As a child, I liked spending my time
reading at the local library. I was
homeschooled for a few years before
I got my first job selling newspapers.
In 1868 I began my career as an
inventor in Boston.
Friends (1,346)
Alexander
Graham Bell
Albert Einstein
Nikola Tesla
Juliette Gordon Low
Can’t wait to get electricity!
Thomas Edison
Next Project: I am going to do for the eye what the phonograph does to the ear. Get ready for motion pictures!
Wohoo
Thomas Edison
My Kinetoscope is going to record and reproduce objects in motion!
Thomas Edison
Me
By Thomas Edison (Albums) * Updated 1 week ago
My beautiful wife, Mina Edison, with whom I have
three great children.
The Phonograph!
Me with one of my most beloved inventions, the
phonograph.
The light bulb!
Me when I was little.
Facebook for Communication
Top 10 Ways to Use Twitter
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Tweet Assignments/Due Dates
Provide a classroom news feed to keep
parents informed
Follow current issues in the news
Track career interests/engage with
professionals
Foreign language teachers can have
students use their skills to translate
feeds from other nations
Top 10 Ways to Use Twitter
6. Connect with other classrooms around
the world
7. Live Tweet a book or movie review
8. Create a progressive poem
9. Have students tweet lesson summaries
10. Create a fictional historical character
and tweet as if you were that person
http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom
Network with Twitter
Use Twitter to collaborate or learn from
educators around the world
 Subscribe to the #educhat:
 Twitter for Librarians:
http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/a-guide-to-twitterin-libraries/
 Twitter Guide for Teachers:
http://www.edudemic.com/2010/06/theultimate-twitter-guidebook/
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Instagram
What is Instagram?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
N92MQ9o4Fe0
5 Ways to Instagram
From a private classroom account
1. Showcase student work
2. Memorialize field trip experiences
3. Document your daily activities or special
events
Activities that do not necessarily need
a private account
4. Have students photograph and post
pictures of animals, plants, or other nature
projects.
5. Students could post photos of math
concepts such as angles, geometric shapes,
etc.
Instagram Article
Vine
 What is Vine?
◦ A mobile app for creating short videos
◦ Owned by Twitter
Vine in the Classroom
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What could you possibly do with a 6
second video clip?
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Create “How To” Video Clips
Video the steps in a science lab
Impersonate a historical figure
Use as a “hook” to introduce a topic
You are only limited by your imagination!
How to Vine!
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2414713,00.asp
Other…
Edmodo- allows teachers to collaborate,
send notes, post assignments, conduct
polls, etc. in a safe environment
http://www.edmodo.com/
 I-Tunes U- access thousands of lectures
or create your own course
http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/
 TwitPic- Create a picture scavenger hunt
http://twitpic.com/
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We hope you enjoyed
this GaETC session.
Please give your feedback
at
www.gaetc.org/evaluate
GaETC 2013
Reenay R. H. Rogers
The University of West Alabama
rrogers@uwa.edu
(205) 652-5423