7. Google Earth & Mashups

Google Earth is a fascinating free application you'll need to download and install on your computer. It is used by many teachers and students to explore a topic spatially through a geographic interface. It is closely related to Google Maps with which it shares its satellite imagery of the earth. Here's a link with short videos that demonstrate Google Earth's features. The page has a button to download Google Earth to your computer.

• View Goggle Earth tour and download

Note: This workshop section may be done as a demonstration if Google Earth is not installed on the workshop computers.

Geotagging
Both Google Maps and Google Earth provide a layering system whereby geotagged data can be accessed via the map interface. The data appears as though it were superimposed over the map in a transparent layer. All of the data is linked to a geographical location within Google Maps or Earth. This brief Wired article describes how NASA photographs from space are made accessible through a geotagged data layer available on Google Earth.

6. Wikis for Collaborative Web Publishing

Wiki is a Hawaiian word that means quick, and wikis are the fastest way to create web pages that can be collaboratively edited by multiple people. You don't need to use any special software (like Dreamweaver or Front Page), you don't need to know HTML (the Web-page computer language, and you never have to send your page to a Web server. It's really easy for a teacher, student or class to create a private or public Website on any topic you're studying.

Wikipedia is the largest and best-known Wiki. A global community of volunteer writers have made Wikipedia the world's largest encyclopedia approaching two million articles and rivaling Britannica for accuracy (according to a 2006 Australian study). Students know and trust Wikipedia, but many teachers are less familiar and less confident regarding its use in school. If you haven't visited Wikipedia, DO SO. Search for a topic in your specialty and judge its value for yourself. Next search for a topic that provokes strongly differing viewpoints like War in Iraq, Global Warming, Stem Cell Research or Abortion. See how Wikipedia handles those hot topics. If you require your students to do research, you should discuss the pros and cons of Wikipedia with them to help them understand the world's most comprehensive encyclopedia. Note: Many teachers of advanced classes have their students add to a Wikipedia article or a Wikibook.

Video of Wiki in Plain English
Here's a four-minute Common Craft YouTube video that explains the wiki ideas with plain English and simple diagrams.

Visit an Education Wiki
Below are links to a wide variety of educational wikis. If you are a high school English teacher, try the Educause article on using wikis to teach writing skills. If you teach any advanced discipline, try the Using a Wiki in Education article from the Science of Spectrometry. The Educational Wikis link will connect you to many K-12 and professional development wikis for you to browse. As you explore these wikis, keep in mind that they were created and edited by groups of people like you with no special Web development skills or software!

• Educational Wikis is a collection of education-related wikis posted on the popular (and free) Wikispaces site.


• Educause article on writing instruction in higher ed.


• Using a Wiki in Education (from Science of Spectrometry)

Add a Wiki Entry
The easiest way to learn about wikis is to create or edit a wiki entry. Below is a sandbox wiki that is designed for teachers and librarians to learn-by-doing. Click on the Learning 2.0 Wiki Sandbox and choose a favorites page (I like the favorite restaurants page). You'll need to enter the password (which is "PLCMC"). Scroll through the editing box to see how others have created their entries. Try making a change or adding your own favorite. Just follow their formatting examples. When finished, click the SAVE button and see how your entry has been added to the Web page. You can re-edit to modify your entry as many times as you wish.

• Learning 2.0 Wiki Sandbox
  

Write an entry in your blog that reflects your exploration and thoughts about wikis, perhaps in your classroom. You can include a link to any website in your blog. Remember to tag your post with the workshop tag.

5. Tagging, Folksonomies, Social Bookmarking

We'll see how millions of people organize their knowledge and resources using the Del.icio.us Website. Their secret sauce has four ingredients:

1. Users select websites they want to remember for future access. This small step filters out all of the uninteresting sites and focuses sharply on sites that others have found valuable.
2. Users label each website with tags that reflect how they categorize it so they can group it with related sites. This free-form method of organization by tagging is called a folksonomy. (Compare this with a taxonomy that is a scientifically-generated system of organization such as Dewey Decimal System or Taxonomy of biological classification.)
   
3. Del.icio.us shares all of the websites and tags to create a gigantic filtering and categorization system for its users. (note: user's names or accounts are not shared.)
4. Users may choose to share their favorite website with others in personal, family or interest groups. Bookmarks shared within a social or interest group is sometimes called social bookmarking.

Since users keep their Web bookmarks in Del.icio.us, they can access them from any computer on the Internet. It is perfect for students, teachers and traveling people who need to access information from school, home and work.

Let's see Del.icio.us in action:

1. Go to the Del.icio.us site.
   (Note that there is no com or org at the end. The official suffix is us for United States.
2. Notice the lefthand column of currently popular websites (check out any that interest you)
3. Search for a topic of interest to you or your class. Be as specific as seems reasonable. For example, you could search for: irregular verbs, volcano, deep-sea treasure, cheap wine, organic coffee, thai recipe, plankton, electron microscope photo, baroque music. Rather than getting the most-frequently visited sites, you get the most-recommended sites.
   
4. Check out the Habits of wildly successful Del.icio.us Users.
5. Here's a Del.icio.us tutorial on YouTube for beginning users (5 min.). Note: schools may block this site.
   
6. Teachers use Del.icio.us as a way to aggregate the websites they find (and found by their students) into sensible categories. The tagging of websites is key to the success of this use (a classroom or topic tag would be appropriate). The resulting lists can be exported to class web pages, blogs or through RSS feeds.

The short movie (less than 2 min) below offers a simple, visual explanation of the method, reach and power of social networking.


Tag Clouds

1. Check out the popular tag view of Del.icio.us.
   The size of the tag reflects its popularity. This view of information is called a Tag Cloud. At a glance you can see the relative levels of activity and interest in a broad field. Notice that both education and Web 2.0 show enormous interest!
   
2. Click on a tag of interest and see how to navigate using a tag cloud. Tag clouds are a feature of many websites that provide access to huge amounts of information.
   
3. Create a blog entry (with our workshop tag) with your thoughts on a topic that would be a Del.icio.us application for your class. You may want to think about how tag clouds could help your students as they try to find good information in the large Internet. Remember that your students only need to create an account if they want to add bookmarks to sites.
   

4. Image Generators (pure fun!)

Image generators are websites that allow you to create or customize images. Some allow you to create signs or buttons. Some allow you to create fantastic titles. Others give you a variety of interesting photographs and invite you to add creative text within the photo (like the example to the right).

Explore the image generator links below and try a few. They are all free, and none of them require accounts. You and your students can use these for web graphics, report titles and just for fun. If you create an image you like, you can add it to your blog.

• The Generator Blog
• Letter James Site
• FD - Flickr Tools (many tools!)
• Google for image generator or text generator for more
  

See if you can post your created image to your blog. There are two or three ways:

1. Save the image to your hard drive OR record the URL of the image.
   
2. Create a New Post in your blog and add the image via the Add Image button.
3. From the image generator site, you may be able to post directly to your blog.

Record your ideas about image generators in your blog. Can you think of a way to use a generated image in your teaching or with your students? Be sure to label the post with our workshop tag. (Note: some image generation sites permit viewing of recent creations, which may be objectionable. Check the site before you give it to students.)

3. Putting It All Together: part 1

Add a photo to your blog.

You can upload a photo from your computer or link to a photo from anywhere on the Internet. If you host personal or class photos on a Flickr account, you can link directly from your Flickr photo to your blog. You can also use a photo from http://www.everystockphoto.com. You'll just need the "URL" or web address of the photo. You can right click on any Internet photo and copy the photo's URL.

To add the photo to your blog text, just click the photo icon in the Blogger editor. You will have the option to browse your own computer to upload a photo or to enter a photo URL. After you select your photo, you can choose to display it in a small, medium or large format, and you can choose to display it centered or to left or right of your text. Click the "Upload Image" button to place the image in your blog. It will display at the location of the cursor in your blog text. You can upload up to 1024MB of photos to your Blogger account. Other blogs like Wordpress have a similar way to enter photos.

Add a comment to a blog.

Visit a blog of your choice. At the end of the posting to which you'd like to comment, click on the link that allows you to add a comment. You may or may not need to have an account on the blog. If the blog owner permits comments, you will be able to enter your comment and submit it. Check to see how the comment is displayed or accessed. This is one of the most common forms of Internet discussion.

Subscribe to a blog.

Most blogs "publish" themselves and their changes to the Internet through a feature called "RSS" (Really Simple Syndication). The RSS symbol is a small orange square with white arcs that represent broadcasting or speaking. You'll need a place to read the blogs to which you subscribe. This is called an RSS aggregator. Two of the most common are Google Desktop (iGoogle) and Google Reader. You can create one from your Blogger account (owned by Google). One way is to visit "labs.google.com" and select iGoogle or Google Reader.

To actually subscribe to new blog postings, just visit the blog you wish to read. On your browser or the blog post you should find an RSS icon. Click on the RSS icon and follow the prompts to subscribe to the blog. From now on, all new postings will show up as links in your RSS aggregator. The may sound complicated because of the new vocabulary, but it is really quite easy and convenient.

2. Photos, Image Sharing and Flickr.com

Everybody loves photographs from family, friends, faraway places and fun. In this activity we'll look at a large photo posting and sharing website that millions of people use to save, organize, display and share their photos. You and your students can use it as a source for photos for web pages, reports and teaching materials (we'll learn about caveats later). You don't have to join Flickr to search and view the photos others have shared. You do need a free account to post your own photos. Follow the steps below to begin:

Learning about Flickr and Web 2.0 Photo Sites

1. Go to the Flickr Home Page. You may create a free account at this time.
   
2. Take the Flickr Tour. This will introduce you to the various components of the Flickr experience. You might be surprised how many ways photos can be used on the Web!
3. Search for photos using a topic of interest to you or to your class. You could search for volcano, Nixon, StatueofLiberty, avacado, lathe, MRI, salamander or any combination of one-word search terms (note StatueofLiberty). Capital letters are not important in the search.

Posting to your Flickr account.
Note that you can only post to your own Flickr account.

1. If you created a Flickr account, upload an original photo to Flickr. (note: you need to have full rights to -- or ownership of -- any photo you upload.)
   
2. Carefully title and tag the photo meaningfully. Include the workshop tag in all posts and uploads. Tagging is the most important step in photo management on Flickr and on the Web. Photos are searched for and organized according to tags. You'll learn a lot about tags in these activities!
3. Search for photos using the workshop tag to see those your peers have posted.

Other photo websites:

• SmugMug is similar to Flickr but it emphasizes personal collections more than sharing. There is a part of SmugMug for professional photographers (fee-based), and there are nice options for high-quality photo printing and nice photo albums. Try the SmugMug tour.
• EveryStockPhoto is a source of over one million photographic images that you can use. Many are taken by professional or semi-professional photographers. They generally require that you give the photographer proper attribution where you use the photo. Most photos use a Creative Commons license that permits unlimited educational use.

How safe are photo websites?

• Flickr, for example, has over 800 million photos publicly available. Even though less than one-half of one percent may be inappropriate for family viewing, Flickr devised a way to segment their users in order to protect children and schools. When users upload photos, they categorize each one as safe, moderate or restricted. Unregistered users, like most school users, can only view safe photos. In order to view the other categories, you must log on as a registered Flickr user and specify moderate or restricted from the Advanced Search page. This ensures that no one can accidentally view adult content.
  
• Here's a Wired article that discusses this issue in depth.
  

1. Create Your Own Blog

Create the Empty Blog

Create a blog on Blogger.com, a free service from Google. You can upload a photo of yourself or a caricature to further personalize your blog (here's the small photo I use). Here are the simple steps:

1. Go to Blogger.com
2. -- If you already have a Google account, log in to it using your username and password.
   -- If not, select a username and a password to create your Google account. You have to use your real name in the process, but your username may be anything (without spaces). Your password should be more than 6 characters, and ideally would include a mix of lower case, upper case and numbers. (But you DO have to remember it!).
3. Pick a name for your blog. It can be anything from "Martha's Blog" to "Internet Learning in Room 302."
4. Pick a one-word "short name" for your blog that will be part of its web address. Since this must be unique, pick a name that others probably haven't already chosen. It could be "marthablog" or "rm302" or anything. You and others will access your blog using this name in an address like: "http://marthablog.blogspot.com."
5. Choose a template from the examples to choose the appearance of your blog; you can always change your mind later.

Congratulations! You've created your blog! Next step is to add your first post (message):

Add Your First Post:
What do you think of blogging? Any ideas where you might you this in school?

1. Click on "Post," "Create," "New Post" or whatever will take you to an editing window where you can write your first message. It's called a post for the same reason our mail goes through the post office.
   
2. Each posting requires a short, explanatory Title, just like the subject in an e-mail message. Your message will be shared via its title, so it should be self-explanatory. Enter your title in the Title box.
3. Each posting requires a message body, again like an e-mail message. The editing window provides formatting tools like simple word processor that you can use to add to the expressiveness of your text. Book titles, for example, may be italicized.
4. Each posting should also include tags or labels. These are descriptive terms, separated by commas, that you or others may use to search for relevant postings. Be sure to use our workshop tag for every post your create in the workshop. That's how we'll share with each other. Write two or three tags in the Labels for this post section.
   
5. Optional: A small photo from your computer or from the web may be added to any post (use the Add Image tool in the button bar). Hovering the mouse over a tool will display the tool's function.
   
6. When you are finished, click on Publish Post (or on Save As Draft if you don't want to post it yet).

Congratulations! You've completed your first post and finished the activity! Later we'll share and comment on each others' posts.

Overview of Web 2.0 Learning Activities

Step into the future of learning technology!
Web 2.0 is made up of many interactive Internet technologies and Websites. We will explore parts of Web 2.0 that are valuable for teachers to use in their classes and for them to know about for background knowledge (and fun!). Below are the topics we will cover with links to the activity page for each one.

1. Blogs, Blogging and Blogger.com
   BLOG is the abbreviation of "Web log," and an individual blog is much like a journal you may choose to share with others and for others to comment on. In this activity you'll create your own blog and learn how to post messages on it. You will also learn how to comment on others' blogs. Thousands of teachers and millions of students use blogs every day to write, read, collaborate, criticize and think in a new way about communication.
   


2. Photos, Image Sharing and Flickr.com
   Visit the Flickr site, and search its millions of photos. I'll bet you can find some your class would not only enjoy but would learn from. A boon for studying about foreign places and ... well, just about everything!
   


3. Putting It All Together: part 1
   The real power of Web 2.0 technologies and websites lies in the creative ways that each site's capabilities can be combined with others. You'll love it (and so will your students)!
   


4. Image Generators (pure fun!)
   Put on your creativity hat and expose your funny bone ...
   


5. Tagging, Folksonomies and Social Bookmarking
   We'll visit the Del.icio.us site learn how tagging has changed the way information is organized and accessed. Warning: This activity comes with powerful ideas attached.
   


6. Wikis for Collaborative Web Publishing
   See the fastest way to create and collaborate on web pages that is as useful in your classroom as it is in global business and research.
   


7. Google Earth & Mashups
   Google Earth is facinating, but you also can add and link Web 2.0 content to make it a great way to spatially explore and organize knowledge. It's a lot of fun, too!
   


8. Web Application like Google Docs
   What if you or your students didn't own a computer, word processor or e-mail program? Web applications provide those services and more over any computer. It's one of the BEST ways to shuttle documents between home and school.
   


9. Audio and Video Web 2.0 Websites
   Sites like iTunes and YouTube are either so popular or are blocked by school filtering systems that you may want to skip this section. But you and you students should know that the power of posting and sharing text and images extends to sounds and videos. These are some of the most popular and culture-changing sites on the Web!
   


10. Digg and Crowdsourcing
    What if everyone rated the news stories and web posts they read? Through a process called crowdsourcing, top-ranked stories are posted on Digg so you and your students can see what others find interesting.


11. Concerns with Web 2.0 in School
    Parents, teachers, administrators and school boards may worry about what their children may be exposed to in Web 2.0 activities. On one hand, they want their children to have access to the best the Web has to offer. On the other hand, they fear the lack of centralized control over Web 2.0 sites to guarantee Internet safety.


12. Copyright Issues and Creative Commons
    Copyright was created for the express purpose of fostering the production of creative work. You and your students need to know about copyright issues that relate to Web 2.0 posting on the Web. You also should know about recent extensions of copyright that resolve many of the thorniest issues for class publishing.


13. Other Web 2.0 Applications and Ideas
    This is an optional segment that includes other Web 2.0 applications and ideas that may be of interest to educators. (RSS feeds, Connectivism, etc.)
    


14. Facilitator Notes
    These notes provide guidance for a facilitator to conduct a hands-on Web 2.0 workshop for teachers and other school stakeholders.