Annette Lamb - ABC's of Web 2.0 : Avatars, Blogs, and Collaborative Wikis

I first heard Annette Lamb present at GAETC in Macon four or five years ago and was thoroughly impressed by her, so I knew I needed to sit in on at least one of her lectures. Being the fan of Web 2.0 that I am, I chose this particular session of hers to attend.

Lamb cites collaboration and interactivity as two factors why Web 2.0 tools are useful for students in education. In the past our students may have all worked on a project, but each one did their part and then combined it together. "That's cooperation or team-building," she says and I agree. What also happens in these situations is that one student does the work, sometimes for the majority of the group. By making each student responsible for their own work and giving the teacher the tools to monitor the collaboration, interactivity is a by-product. That one shy child or non-participator-by-choice child is drawn to interact.

The title of her presentation, ABC's of Web 2.0, was actually how she broke down her presentation. The first topic was "A" for Avatars, Virtual Worlds, and Social Networks.

She began by talking about the virtual world called 2nd life and actually showed us some family pictures of the avatars she and her family have created for themselves in the virtual world. She and her father have actually met in 2nd life and attended a virtual Genealogy meeting with other members of 2nd life who have similar interests. Instead of discussing on a bulletin board or via live chat, you can actually watch everyone interact and have conversations.

For some, it's a place where they can come out of their shell and even create a "new" look. Lamb said that 2ndLife's content is booming and just about everyone can find an interest group that matches their own hobbies, career field, etc. However, 2ndlife isn't for school age children, which is why there is also Teen Life and Whyville for the younger kids.

But how do you use in education? First, imagine taking a virtual trip on the Oregon Trail where you dress up in period clothing and experience the voyage in a simulated environment. Or how about visiting a virtual world based on a book that your class is reading? I have to admit that I have yet to develop a clear picture of the K-12 application of this, but I do realize that this is our future, and I can't wait to see where this goes in the next few years.

If you'd like to take some virtual tours, you'll need to set up and account and download the 2ndLife application first, but then you can visit Annette's wiki where she has tours already established. I think I'll check it out myself to get my own toes wet.


Footnote is a social networking website for people who like primary source documents!! This is going to be a history teacher's goldmine. First you create your profile and then you can locate other people who share your interest. The site has a relationship with National Archives and other museums where primary source documents have been uploaded. 129,000 documents currently exist in their database. Many archives of states and universities are also connected.

But what about the "tweens"? Imbee is a site for teachers and schools and it's free. It's kind of a My Space for kids, but without the risks and exposure. Students can create their own blogs, but unlike other social websites, this is a closed community. However, Lamb suggested it as it's a great social network for project based learning. I have tried to access the site as I'm writing this, but for some reason I can't get in, but don't let that keep you from trying it out.

Ning is a social networking site that I had heard of before attending her session. It allows you to create your own social network where you can choose who participates. Ning works much like a blog and is quick to set up. Additionally, you can add photos, videos, and make your Ning private and only accessible to members of your network.

Of all the tools categorized under "A", for me I would most likely use Ning and be able to suggest its use for teachers and students.

"B" is for Blogs, Vlogs, Podcasts, and Web Feeds, all of which are about "me". The purpose of these tools is to publish and share something of importance to me. Others might find what I have written or recorded interesting and they can comment on it. Annette went on to share a dizzying array of K-12 examples, but at least check out this kindergarten class video.

"C" is for Collaborative Wikis, Documents, and Projects. Again, you can find a treasure trove of examples on her website, but she has moved the wiki examples here. Also, be sure to check out her pdf file on "Characteristics of Effective Collaboration."

In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed her session. Although I was already aware of the ABCs, her resources and K-12 examples were more than worth the hour! If you ever get a chance to see her in person...go!

GAETC Review: Tony Brewer - Blogs, Wikis, Podcasting: Tools of the 21st Century Classroom

I found that Tony Brewer was either pretty misinformed or ignorant of the ways wikis can work. He was fairly insistent that wikis could not be moderated nor the publishing of wikis controlled, which is entirely wrong. Some wikis require that the username and password be shared among users to post, some are created for open posting only, but there are others where the wiki can be established so only those who are members may publish and edit. I can't help but be disturbed by this misinformation given that he has built his career on presentations such as these. Blogs are so much more prevalent than wikis and even though the room wasn't packed, he managed to misinform everyone there and leave them with the impression that wikis aren't such a great tool.

Going on, he suggested the use of blogs could allow for multiple collaborators. How? Give the username and password to everyone who will be contributing. Isn't that a wiki? (Correction: Since my original post, I have discovered that you can have a multi-authored blog.) Why do so in a blog format when you could collaborate on a wiki? Each person can have their own login to use, and changes and additions can be tracked by the user.

He poses many questions about the validity of the information on the site and how you can't guarantee that it is free of bias. With an educationally focused wiki, this is not an issue. His allegiance appeared to be more aligned with Wikipedia than providing any other kinds of examples. He even showed Wikipedia and used it as an example.

Then he asked, based on the information he had given, which we would prefer. I was the only one who chose a wiki. Then he made some comment like, "How do you like being the only one?" Okay, I had to comment on that. I gave a short explanation of how I use wikis and that Wikispaces was a perfect medium to use with students and point-by-point contradicted his negative remarks about wikis. I was shocked to find that he had never even HEARD of Wikispaces. Then he said he would be careful because it ends in ".com". My hand went up again to relay that they have teacher pages which are free and add free to boot. Thankfully, another member of the audience brought up another suggestion of using WetPaint.

What really threw me was that when an audience member asked what you could use a wiki for other than having students create an encyclopedia. He was blank!! He solicited examples so my hand went up for the third time to relate the book study a group of 8th grade gifted students are doing with some of the faculty members in that school. I'd link to it, but it's private to protect the students, but I am very excited about what they are doing.

So, in short (too late right?), I guess he was rather ignorant about the use of wikis. But isn't it his job to completely inform himself before coming to a state conference and presenting on subjects such as this? Additionally, one of his links to educational wiki examples was a page produced on, drum roll please....Wikispaces!!

As David Warlick would say, just my 2 cents worth. So, in short if you are reading this and want to know more about wikis, you can go to my Diigo list of wiki examples.

Curtis J. Bonk - Wandering Through the Wonders of Web 2.0

I first became aware of Professor Curtis J. Bonk after reading through a few Educational Technology blogs. I ran across his website and he routinely speaks at conferences regarding topics that I have been very interested in. So, when I found he was a featured speaker at GAETC 2007, I made sure to go to his first session.

First of all, he's a dynamo. I was exhausted by the end of his lecture as quickly as he was going through his presentation. The focus was the wonders of Web 2.0 and what current technology innovations had helped to "flatten" the world. Flatten meaning tools that have made it possible for people to interact globally regardless of physical constraints.

He first began by comparing education throughout the centuries. One particularly interesting point he had was all of the innovations of the 1950's for teachers such as record player, OPAC machines, tape recorders, etc. Teachers were overwhelmed, resistant, reluctant, and feared this technology. Sound familiar? Teachers today have much the same reaction when faced with current technologies.

Contrast those innovations with what we have today! Ipods, Internet enabled cell-phones, text messaging, handhelds, digital video, virtual experiences, and the ability to receive instant feedback given the expansion of broadband capabilities. In April 2007 there were 75 million blogs and 173 million personalized pages on MySpace.

He also spoke of Neomillenial Learning styles where students:

• learn using multiple forms of media
• actively seek, collect, and synthesize experiences rather than absorb from a single "best" resource
• actively learn and collaboratively reflect
• approach learning in a non-linear way
• co-design learning experiences

The real skill is not to lengthen your attention span, but to multi-task. I found this to be particularly provocative because of how difficult it would be for some teachers to grasp this as being a "good thing". Typically it isn't something teachers want our students to do since many educators have yet to move beyond the "sage on the stage" approach to teaching and learning. However, 21st century skills demand that our students become more and more adept at juggling a variety of tasks.

Curtis also spoke about "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman and that there are ten forces that flattened the world. For example, in 1860 the telegraph flattened the world by providing a quick means of communication that before then had not been possible. Now, instead of the telegraph and telephone we have text messaging and blogs. It's amazing how far we've come.

He outlined the ten forces with examples, but it's far too much to list here. I'll post this for now, but I'll come back and add some of the more interesting resources he mentioned. All in all, I enjoyed his session, but I was very overwhelmed, and it will take some time to digest everything so I can determine how I can use and /or share the information with others.