RSS and Feedly (Module 8)

RSS feeds (Really Short Syndication) can be embedded onto a site (e.g. classroom Google Site via a RSS widget) which will display the latest news/stories from that website/blog. This could be a good way for students to be kept up to date with latest local/national/international news (e.g. RSS feed from ABC News, Sky News etc.). Students can also create an RSS feed for their own blog to allow others to follow.   

Feedly is a place to keep all your RSS feeds in one place. Once you create your account (login with Google), you customise your homepage by choosing sites/blogs etc that you want to include in your news feed. Think of it like your Facebook news feed but just for seeing new activity from websites you choose. As a teacher this can be a perfect way to keep up to date with the latest trends, ideas, innovations in your field of education. There are so many interesting and insightful educational blogs and sites that are worth following.  If a teacher wants to follow their student blogs, Feedly provides the most time efficient way to do this (you don't have to actually go and visit 30 different blogs to see what's new....the posts get delivered to you!).

Why use Feedly?
Instead of you having to go and check your favourite blogs/sites regularly to see if there's any new content....with Feedly, the content comes to you in one place!

Social Bookmarking (Module 7)

Social bookmarking is the 21st century version of a bookmarks/favoutites bar on your web browser- the major difference (benefit) is that social bookmarking is hosted on the web as opposed to the traditional bookmarks/favourites which are saved to your specific device/PC.

As your favourite websites are saved to the cloud, you can access them anywhere on any device that is web enabled. The benefit is that you can share your bookmarks with other people and conversely, you too can "follow" other users or groups. 

In a classroom setting, groups would be beneficial as students can all share their bookmarks to a group, therefore enabling greater collaboration. This would work ideally when researching broad and sometimes difficult topics, particularly supporting students who are less confident or capable.

Here is my diigo homepage where I'm starting to build a collection of teacher related websites/blogs etc..

Here is a group on Diigo that I subscribe to and get weekly email updates, really good for staying abreast of the latest Web 2.0 tools in education - Classroom 2.0  

Picasa (Module 6)

Every Google user (staff and students) automatically has a Picasa Web Albums account. This is not to be confused with Picasa (the desktop program that you have to download), just go to the Chrome address bar and type "picasa web".

Picasa Web is the ideal way to store photos online....why store them online I hear you ask?

Once they are organised into albums online, they can then be embedded into Google sites and blogs as slideshows. Once you embed a slideshow into a class page, you can continue to add photos via Picasa Web and the slideshow is automatically updated. Below is an example of a slideshow (you can change the size) and and "how to" video for starting with Picasa Web:

Presenting with Glogster (Module 5)

An exciting, engaging and super easy to use tool for presenting projects is Glogster!

*make sure you visit the EDU Glogster, not the glogster.com

Glogster is an online, interactive way to create project posters. Posters come to life by combining text, pictures, audio and video. Completed Glogs can be embedded into Google Sites (watch the how to video here). Another plus is that you can login with your Google account, therefore no separate password required (you will need to choose a unique username).

Teaching Ideas:

*Perfect for presenting projects (SOSE, Science, History etc) because it allows text, images, video and audio.

*As there is design elements in Glogster you can also assess visual art and technology if you set up the rubric and assignment focus on presentation as well as content)

*Present autobiographies.

Here is a quick one I whipped up myself & embedded into blogger:

Mindmapping and Collaborating (Module 5)

Mindmapping tools are abundant on the web and the one which I would like to focus on for classroom use is:

Murally can be used as a mindmapping tool for whole class discussions/brainstorms, but the absolute beauty of it is that it is collaborative (& free) and easy to sign in using a Google account. Here are my thoughts on Web 2.0 tools in a mural:

Murally is a shared Google Doc for visual learners! Students and teachers sign in with Google accounts, no password or usernames needed! Rather than just text, you can insert images, documents, sticky notes, comments and web links of all sorts. Finished murals can be then setup to present as a video presentation (like an old fashioned PowerPoint but way cooler!). Here is a video to get you enthused.

Here is an actual example created by my Yr 7 class when studying Dreamtime stories:

News and Views Project

This term you will become a news blogger! 

What is that I hear you ask?

A news blogger reports the news but most importantly gives their opinion on the stories. Blogs are public pages on the web that also allow comments from other people.

Podcasts, Vodcasts, Videos and Web 2.0 (Module 4)

Audacity (free software download, so therefore not actually a Web 2.0 tool!) is an ideal tool to record and edit sound. These recordings can be saved into an MP3 format which will then allow them to be uploaded and become PODCASTS.






Student example of a podcast recorded with Audacity:

There do exist a couple of Web 2.0 alternatives to Audacity that are not quite as user friendly but may be worth considering, particularly if you're using Chromebooks:


As our students all have access to Google sites, it is the logical place for them to publish podcasts. Unfortunately it isn't as straight forward as inserting a picture or Youtube video, but with this "how to" video I created, anyone can bring their site to life with podcasts.