Social Networking, EduWiki and Quizlab

We had a great discussion about Social Networking and the impact it could have on education. There is so much out there that kids have access to, we need to start using the social networks as a tool for stimulating students learning. I took a look at some of the videos on social networking that were presented by kid on EduWiki, and I really was impressed by the song that was created by the teenagers. They're wondering when educators are going to start incorporating their information and thoughts interactively within their subject areas. They do want to learn but not the "old way". They really came across strongly with their point of view. If you haven't watched this video, you should. Education has been static and seems to take eons to change direction. We should be embracing technology and using what the kids use in order to prepare them for the workplace environment they're entering.

The resources we looked at, Voice Thread, Soda Constructor, Vyew, and Jing Project were all of some educational value. I really like Voice Thread and Ning. I could see using VoiceThread in the classroom, especially when trying to get a point across. What better way than to illustrate it and comment on it. I can also see this a a way to preserve family information. Students who are asked to create a family tree could do it here and have the voices of their ancestors recorded with a little bit of biographical history. There are a lot of ways students could come up with for using this program. Soda Constructor is one I'd leave to the mathematicians, or students who are creating a project and want to test it out before making it. I like Ning because it has the potential to bring in only those class members the teacher invites. This is very helpful, especially when reading up on the limitation of items published on the Internet. The fair use law would come into place here. I also liked Jing because I could see myself creating a mini tutorial about our library program and how to access the features from the web at home. This way anyone could have access to the information when they needed it.
Quizlab was an eyeopener for me. I was able to create a quiz and take it based on the DVD I used with the fourth graders about researching on the Internet. There was a lot that was covered within a short space of time and all of it pertinent to their learning. One teacher had them take notes and collected them for a grade. This is a great tool for teachers and I'm going to pass it on to my staff.
Web quests are a great way for students to learn and construct meaning for themselves. I found in evaluating the web quest on Reader's Theater that this would be fun to do, except some of the links had linkrot. The evaluation tools were helpful when looking to see if the ones I found were good. I liked WebQuest.org because it was easy to search for the type of web quest I was looking for, by putting in the subject area and grade level. QuestGarden is a very useful tool for creating your own web quest and they've updated it so it's easier to make one. Best WebQuests rated the best of the web quests that are out there, which is great for looking for a really pertinent one. They gave the information about what a web quest should look like. I liked Zunal as it led me to one on the library this weekend. After looking at it, I wouldn't use it as it's meant for older students. I could adapt some of the resources to the fourth grade, however.
This session had so many places for me to explore for resources that I really appreciate all the effort it took to make all of us aware of what's available to use. Thanks!