Databus Issue: 2009 2 04/01/2009
Uses of Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom
Magali Fraysse Outreach Specialist
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With the growth of web 2.0 applications, educators have gained a wide range of technological tools to help them do their jobs better. Web 2.0 technologies are now playing an important role in the K-12 school setting. In addition to engaging students, these digital tools represent a great source of free professional development.
Last year, recognizing the impact Web 2.0 technologies could have on teaching and learning, the California K-12 High Speed Network (K12HSN) rolled out a comprehensive set of tools: Calaxy. This free suite of tools, previously known as edZone, was designed to enhance today's classroom environment.
Calaxy offers blogging, videoconference scheduling, Wikis, MyTechDesk- a web-based work order management system, an asset management module, as well as Moodle-an online course management system. It also supports a file sharing system where educators can upload videos, podcasts, images and documents. Calaxy is an excellent tool to share lesson ideas, upload student learning objects, and disseminate best practices. A messaging component and social networking functionalities have recently been added to help educators connect with their peers in the K12HSN “Trusted Community.”
K12HSN encourages educators to utilize the latest web technology and tools in a sheltered environment. Each member of the community has been verified as a member of California's K-12 educational system. Taking full advantage of the 21st-century technologies, in a secure environment, teachers are able to share their ideas with the world, other Calaxy members, or a specific group of users. Calaxy’s privacy settings enable educators to decide exactly who can access their online content whether it is a blog, a wiki, a document, video, image or podcast.
Tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasting and video hosting make it easy for anyone to publish digital content and share it broadly with the educational community. More and more teachers are taking advantage of the web 2.0 tools to contribute and collaborate with their peers, unimpeded by geography. Educators increasingly rely on education blogs, sifting through other practitioners’ resources and ideas on how to improve classroom instruction.
Blogs and wikis help educators connect with their peers. They provide an avenue where educators can engage in conversations about education, classroom technology, school policies and other topics. Many schools encourage this new form of collaboration, inviting their staff to form teacher teams reflecting on instruction, sharing lesson plans, and teaching techniques.
In Calaxy, several users are blogging to exchange their ideas on the adoption of SMART Boards, Interwrite Pads, and other classroom technologies. Others use the Calaxy blog to share the great resources they have found and use in the classroom. A junior high school principal and his staff use the Calaxy blog to discuss school policies.
Getting teachers involved with web 2.0 tools also helps bridge the digital gap between teachers and digital natives. Many educators complement their courses with podcasts and videos to engage their students, save precious instructional minutes, and emphasize key concepts.
Some teachers use Calaxy to post short video clips or podcasts of the content they are teaching in the classroom, allowing students to go over these resources, as needed, from home or from their iPods. In schools where Moodle is not hosted, teachers have the opportunity to access and work with the instance of Moodle provided through Calaxy. Calaxy’s Moodle fills a gap for those educators with limited support, who would otherwise not have access to the online course management.
With the recent name change, several new features were launched. The new messaging feature is a hybrid of an internal email system and a discussion forum. The ability to create a “buddy list” and see the online presence of other users takes us a step further in the social networking aspect that Calaxy will ultimately deliver.
“Galaxy is an amazing resource for California teachers,” explains Gail Desler, Technology Integration Specialist for Elk Grove USD. “For a starter, thanks to the videoconferencing scheduler – and multi-point bridge – our teachers have the capability of taking students on field trips during their regular instructional time, without leaving the classroom setting. In the current school year, for instance, a group of middle school students and high school students met virtually with Tuskegee Airman Alexander Jefferson to learn first-hand what it was like for African American soldiers during World War II to ‘fight for the right to fight.’
At the elementary level, a group of 4th grade students at one of our Title I schools will be connecting with Los Angeles USD teacher and filmmaker Mathew Needleman for feedback on their video projects, which Needleman will be able to access and preview from a private Calaxy video group.
“The Kids Book Blog project (http://kidsbookblog.edublogs.org/) is another good example of how a growing number of teachers in the district are tapping into the Calaxy toolkit. Fifth grade teacher Denise Phillips uses the capability to upload her students’ book talks via the Calaxy podcasting and video functions to open the walls of the classroom. In February, Phillips’ students presented their project to a worldwide audience during the Megaconference Jr. International Videoconference event (http://www.megaconferencejr.org/), taking the Kids Book Blog project to a whole new level, as students shared their vision for ‘promoting a love of books’ and enjoyed the opportunity ‘to meet students from cities they had never heard of before.’
“I love sharing the K12HSN resources with teachers,” says Desler. “Simply put, Calaxy is a gift to California teachers!”
K12HSN strives to provide California K-12 educators with the tools they need to collaborate, share best practices and engage students. Calaxy is the “go-to” place where California K-12 educators can safely leverage 21st century tools to improve teaching and learning, at no cost. If you have any questions, please contact the K12HSN staff at (760) 312-6158 or email info_request@lists.k12hsn.org
