Newbies and Peer support : the safest way to go!!
A lot has been written so far about the new web 2.0 educational contexts usability, a lot of applications have been presented, a lot of media analysed, a lot of tools commented.
With EdTech news feeds crowding up teachers “RSS aggregators” and educational sites/ magazines/blogs (e.g. edtech K-12, Getting Smart, Education World, EmergingEdtech) stuffed with astronomically growing numbers of all sorts of cloud based educational resources, programs, promotional messages and reviews of all types and formats, there come times educators feel helpless when having to decide which edtech choice would be most appropriate to different teaching circumstances, especially, when low web 2.0 familiarisation degree and school media specialist absence are the case.
If time is not an issue, then the best approach would be to experiment. However, if there is only a relatively brief timespan, then peer recommendations are the safest way to go!!
When undecisive on the applicability or learning impact of an edtech tool, it’s advisable to have a look at the edshelf where fellow teachers’ ratings help make the right choices for your classroom. Next, take your pick from Edubloggers Directory to stay updated on peer reviews, successful tech integration strategies, articles on current trends and latest research outcomes.
Networking, collaborating, connecting, communicating with other educators will soon enough ensteel your confidence and enhance your ability to put together lots of valuable resources in no time just like the ones in my 4iDesk Livebinder Shelf and at this point I feel the need to express my appreciation to Tina and Barbara @LiveBinders for their unique inspiration to find ways to assist educators putting in order the webtech chaos to our greater benefit!!
DESIGN
ENGAGE
SHARE
CONNECT
CK-12 Foundation
CK-12 Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce the cost of textbook materials for the K-12 market both in the U.S. and worldwide. As a leading member of the OER movement, CK-12
is using an open-content, web-based collaborative model termed the “FlexBook.” With these free, common core aligned and NSES aligned digital textbooks, CK-12 intends to pioneer the generation and distribution of high quality educational STEM content that will serve both as core text as well as provide an adaptive environment for learning through the FlexBook Platform™.
Education World: Fresh Ideas: Using Wikis in the Classroom
Wikis have a ton of classroom potential.
Find EducationWorld’s favorite ideas for classroom wiki use that will get students working online in a cost-effective, engaging and collaborative way.
ISTE 2012 Leadership Conference
Via Scoop.it – SchooL-i-Tecs 101
Education transformation requires strong leaders who understand the unique challenges education faces and possess the skills necessary to influence real and positive change. Attend ISTE’s leadership conference for learning and collaboration opportunities tailored specifically for today’s leaders in the field of education.
Debategraph – collaborate, discuss, analyze & visualize
Via Scoop.it – SchooL-i-Tecs 101
Welcome to Debategraph, a web site that enables you to collaborate with people around the world to discuss, model, analyze and visualize complex debates in a wide variety of fields.
OneNote for School
Via Scoop.it – SchooL-i-Tecs 101
Class assignments, schedules, homework, projects, and research can all be kept and searched in OneNote. In this short video, Doug Thomas shows students a few tricks about using images and how to share OneNote between multiple PCs, slates, Macs, and phones.
Free reference manager and Academic social network | Mendeley
Via Scoop.it – New-Tech Librarian
Innovative cross-platform Mendeley organizes indexes and stores your papers in the cloud with its great automatic bibliography generating, paper organizing, annotating, private or public group collaborating features.
Nota : Casual Collaboration
Via Scoop.it – SchooL-i-Tecs 101
Nota. You can simultaneously create and collaborate on fun, interactive web pages.
Nota is a unique free, open canvas that allows users to create, share and collaborate on presentations and virtually any other form of online material instantly integrating text, video, maps, clip art, photos from web album or on the local computer, or license-free images from Flickr, and material from an ever-expanding array of sources. They can then instantly embed their work in Facebook or blogs, and can share and collaborate with friends and classmates.
Teacher guides | Microsoft
Via Scoop.it – SchooL-i-Tecs 101
Free collaboration classroom tools from Microsoft.
Engaging your students, Energizing a lesson plan, and Saving time.
Netvibes – Social Media Monitoring, Analytics and Alerts Dashboard
Via Scoop.it – SchooL-i-Tecs 101
Netvibes is the all-in-one dashboard intelligence platform for real-time social media monitoring, social analytics, brand sentiment, reputation management, team management, company intranets and community portals.
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