What is Web 2.0? How is It Different from the Web I Know?
Web 2.0 is a term used to describe a new way of thinking about the Internet and how it is organized. Instead of the web as a one-way tool consisting of static pages presenting information, Web 2.0 is participatory. Information is generated by everyone who uses the Internet. Web 2.0 is about sharing content and it’s about interaction. It is a collaborative tool which is much more network-oriented and open for public participation than the first iteration of Internet capability. It is strongly database oriented compared to Web 1.0. Information is constantly being gathered and compiled anywhere it is posted which has led to much more efficient search engines. The sharing of information and constant, ever-changing innovation is integral to Web 2.0 thinking.
How does this affect you as a member of the Smith community? Web 2.0 brings participation and sharing of information to a whole new level. Lectures can be supplemented by videos and images gathered from the Internet. Lectures can be uploaded to such sites as Youtube and Flickr for a broader audience. Both professors and students can create class blogs and wikis and discussions started using Moodle. The possibilities for Web 2.0 are endless.
To learn more about Web 2.0 in higher education: http://www.slideshare.net/markvanharmelen/web-20-in-higher-education
An in-depth explanation of Web 2.0: http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html
author:mm
Twitter (twitter.com) is one among many social networking tools. Twitter users “tweet,” that is, post a message in 140 characters or less. Tweeting has also been referred to as microblogging since 140 character message can be a concise essay on any subject. Twitter has become a quick method of steering Twitter followers to good information, especially on the web. A Smith College student said that she was delighted to follow a group of web designers on Twitter because the web content that she was led to was invaluable. Twitter posts can be read on a computer screen or an internet-enabled mobile device.
Educators are debating Twitter’s potential in “extending the classroom.” One common question is whether there is a benefit to using Twitter compared to emailing one’s students. And the larger issue is whether there is value in going where students congregate, e.g. social networking sites, to communicate with them.
Suggestions for educational uses of Twitter include a fast, reliable method of informing students of additional materials for a project or notification of a performance or theatrical event. Twitter with its 140 character messages may be teaching students to communicate concisely. Conferencees are using Twitter’s short posts to network during and after a conference. Students or professors can pose a question via Twitter. Many Twitter users have found great success in posting a question to hundreds, even thousands, of followers and receiving creditable, useful replies quickly.
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Example Tweet from the Whitehouse: whitehouse Full video of the President’s eulogy for Senator Kennedy, now up: http://bit.ly/AZ6NV #Kennedy
Example Tweet: omarepps There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living Nelson Mandela
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Twitter – fad or useful social networking tool? Philosopher Dr Carrie Jenkins explains how the medium is being successfully used by philosophers around the world. To tweet or not tweet podcast (Mon 17 Aug 2009, mp3, 9.55MB, 10:26mins): http://communications.nottingham.ac.uk/podcasts.html .
14 Tweets to Demonstrate the Professional Value of Twitter, Julie Reynolds, July 13, 2009, http://cit.duke.edu/blog/2009/07/13/14-tweets/ .
Results on a survey of professors about Twitter use, http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/08/26/most-faculty-dont-use-twitter-study-reveals.aspx .
If you use interactive activities in Moodle, such as quizzes, questionnaires, or assignments, there is an easy way to send a reminder message to all students who haven’t completed the activity yet.
- On your course page, in the Admin block, click Reports.
- On the Reports page, click Participation Report (this is halfway down the page).
- On the Participation Report page, set the drop-down menus to the following:
- Activity module : Select the quiz, questionnaire or other activity you want to get reports on
- Look back: Leave this set to “Choose…” to see all results.
- Show only : Student
- Show Actions: all actions
- Click the Go button.
- If you have more than 20 users you will need to click the “Show all xxx” link (where xxx = total number of users).
- Click the “Select all ‘no’” button at the bottom of the list to select everyone who has NOT completed the activity
- In the drop-down menu “With selected users”, select Add/send message. (You don’t need to click the OK button)
- Compose your message, preview and send. This will email your message out to the users.
This works even with anonymous questionnaires!
Dragon Naturally Speaking: advantages for students of all abilities
Students of all abilities can benefit from dictating text to their computer. Dragon Naturally Speaking gives much support for multiple learning styles. English language learners can use dictation for speaking and writing practice. Students have been known to show significant improvements in speech skills such as enunciation. Dragon is an aid for improving composition, grammar, and vocabulary. Students are reporting that their attention to their writing is increased if they dictate text. Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 has a “Read That” function that professors can set up to read instructions to students. All Naturally Speaking users can use “Play That Back” to hear their dictated words read back to them.
http://www.nuance.com
Instructors and professors have discovered that using Dragon Naturally Speaking is a great time saver for grading assignments. It is faster and easier to dictate comments than manual typing. Dragon can be used to create lecture notes and handouts. Sending emails becomes a more efficient task if dictated to the computer. Some professors are recording their lectures and then importing the digital recording into Dragon Naturally Speaking. The result is a usable transcription.
http://www.nuance.com
See Smith College Computer Store for purchase.
Note: At this time, Dragon Naturally Speaking is only installed on computers in the Assistive Technology Lab, lower level Seelye. It is not available in the general labs.
Wolfram, the maker of Mathematica, has now come out with Wolfram Alpha. It’s not a search engine; it’s a computation engine. As its homepage proclaims:
Today’s Wolfram|Alpha is the first step in an ambitious, long-term project to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable by anyone. Enter your question or calculation, and Wolfram|Alpha uses its built-in algorithms and a growing collection of data to compute the
answer.
This is an incredibly powerful tool: enter any mathematical formula, and Wolfram Alpha will not only calculate it for you, but will also graph it and pull up any other relevant information it knows. It can do a lot more than math, too: it can pull up health knowledge geographical information, and even find matches for partial words, crossword-puzzle style.
To really see what Wolfram Alpha can do, I recommend watching Steven Wolfram’s introductory video. It’s an amazing new tool with a lot of potential pedagogical uses.
If you teach in the science or math fields, chances are you need to use special symbols, such as Greek characters.
Moodle supports LaTEX, which allows one to type in special codes which are translated automatically into mathematical symbols. LaTEX can be used in any text editor in Moodle, and can be integrated with regular text. To use LaTEX, enclose your mathematical formulae inside two pairs of dollar signs, e.g.:
$$ \sqrt{x + y} $$
To use Greek characters in LaTEX, type a backslash ( \ ) before the letter name (e.g. theta), and enclose it all in two pairs of dollar signs, e.g.:
$$ \theta $$
Here is a reference which lists the LaTEX codes for all Greek characters.
Think of “collaborative writing” as creating a single written document authored by more than one writer. Now, add the unique feature of all writers to the document get to add and erase and, otherwise, edit all words and a wiki is born. Wikis are electronic or online spaces for multiple authors to write or add other content such as video clips, hyperlinks, audio links, photos. Wikis can be used for project management. They offer a single and highly accessible location for keeping project materials. For classroom use, wikis offer creative space for collaborative thinking. Wiki participants can write and edit one document OR another model of collaboration is separate documents held in a single wiki space joined further by a single theme.
CET 2008 Symposium
May 7, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
One day may not be enough time to create your entire lesson, but we can get a good start. Staff will be on hand to explore and create with you.
CET 2008 Symposium
May 7, 10:45 – 12:00 p.m.
You have a plan. You’ll need some objects, scripts and resources. Now is the time to begin creating them. We’ll be learning together and sharing what we create.
