Monday, July 13, 2009

Welcome

This tutorial is brought to you by the Academy School District 20 IT-ES Team as a professional development program. It is being funded by a NCLB Mini-Grant, “20 in the 21st: Web 2.0 in the Classroom.” This module is designed for you to do on your own or you may choose to meet together as a team within your school to work on the various tasks. You can obtain a Management/Users Guide by clicking on the ABOUT section. On the following pages, you will encounter the tools of the new Internet: Web 2.0 tools that are bringing our kids in touch with the entire world through social networking, video, audio, and gaming sites. The ITE-ES Team encourages you to take time to explore and enjoy all the tools of this new Internet. Read on! For this tutorial, there are 20 Things for you to complete. Each Thing will show you one more web tool. There are many places for you to explore, experiment with, and think about creative ways to use 2.0 tools in your classroom.

Credit: If you wish, you can register for 2 CDE credits. See FAQ #5 on the About page.

Tutorial Format: Each week begins with a brief explanation of a new web 2.0 topic, followed by Discovery Exercises. These exercises give you the background you need to understand the tools you're learning about. Don't skip them! After the Discovery Exercises, you'll find a Thing -- activity -- to complete.

After each Thing you will write about the experience on the blog you will create. In other words, you will comment or "post" to your online log (Blog.) Think of this blog as a journal to reflect on your learning. You will learn how to set up a blog in our first face-to-face meeting. This is a tool to communicate your thoughts, new found skills, ideas, questions, and favorite websites. You'll receive feedback and encouragement from other participants. In turn, you will provide feedback and encouragement to others. It's your space! The links on the Overview page will take you to each week's specific lesson.