using social media to expand the classroom community
Posts tagged with Web 2.0
by derrickwillard on July 18, 2011 at 8:36 am · Filed under random and tagged: Life 1.0, Web 2.0
I just spent the better part of a month away from regular tweeting and blogging. I have done this every summer since immersing myself in this Web 2.0 world. Of course, I can’t always totally disconnect–I do “sneak peeks” at my email, twitter, and a few news sites. I know some of my tweeps consider their Life 1.0 and Web 2.0 lives as rather seamlessly integrated by now, but I do not. Every so often I feel this need to “go walkabout” from my virtual life and live untethered. I’ve read a few more print books, played more with my kids, and worked more in my garden. So, today I’m wondering about rest and recharge time. How much do YOU need (if any at all)? Why? When? How often?
by derrickwillard on January 29, 2011 at 9:42 am · Filed under professional development and tagged: conference, Web 2.0
As I have written before, the tech is such that you can now “attend” (not just watch) professional development conferences online. If you are new to all this stuff and your district/school has yet to provide your the training in how to apply Web 2.0 tools in your teaching, consider checking out the Educon 2.3 conference going this weekend (Jan. 28-30, 2011). Go to the link below, create an account and join in on some great conversations about innovation in education!
Educon 2.3 homepage
by derrickwillard on January 1, 2011 at 9:31 pm · Filed under iPhone and tagged: facebook, iPhone, Life 1.0, Web 2.0
Well, I’ve been absent from the edublog-o-sphere for the last two weeks. From time to time I like to unplug from my Web 2.0 PLN. I get so much stimulation from my Twitter feed, Google Reader feed, and reading blogs that sometimes I feel I have to step away from the “table” to “digest” all I have ingested! Additionally, I really feel the need to cut off Web 2.0 in order to fully embrace Life 1.0–to get more exercise, to get outside, to enjoy my family. Of course, living with an iPhone I have found I can not fully unplug anymore. While I really did not open Twitter for 2 weeks, I did open facebook daily. I’m not a big facebook user, but I find that I do “feed the beast” more on holidays and summer when I am away from my professional networks. I used to think there was a more definitive line between Web 2.0 and Life 1.0, but now I am not so sure. I do feel the need to stay connected, regardless of the means…
So, I’m back and ready to blog…check in Monday for thoughts on a new year.
by derrickwillard on November 12, 2010 at 11:22 am · Filed under guest blogger, professional development and tagged: the journey, Web 2.0, why
Matt Scully is our talented Director of Instructional Technology here at Providence Day School. He is the reason I’m blogging today-I couldn’t have done all I have done without his support and encouragement. This is a cross post from his blog: Engaging the Learner.
Want to know why I love YouTube or more accurately streaming video? It is because of moments like last friday when I was struggling to decide what to do with my freshman English class. At the very moment when I was about to sign off on the easier lesson plan – the one I could do without any heaving lifting… you know the one where I do the work and the kids just watch, I heard Sir Ken Robinson in my head. I don’t mean I asked myself what would SKR do, but I literally heard his voice in my head. It was a snippet from his TEDtalk reminding me about creativity and student engagement. It was enough the get me thinking. In less than 40 minutes I had revised the outline for the entire unit and during the revision I consulted with Rives, Ian Jukes, and Sugata Mitra. These are the voices in my head and having heard the lilt of their voices, the strain of their excitement, and the depth of their passion has embedded them in what I do, how I do it, and why I do it.
Your mission if you choose to accept it is to collect the voices in your head. Search them out online, capture them with a Flip video camera, and digitize them from old cassette tapes. Check out my resources page for the beginnings of my collection.
by derrickwillard on August 22, 2010 at 9:09 pm · Filed under social media and tagged: blog, social media, Web 2.0, wiki
So, what do I have on tap for 2010-2011? Well, here’s my list:
1. 7th Grade Science Wiki (year long project)
2. AP Environmental Class Blogs (year long project with student “scribe posts”)
3. AP Environmental Diigo Current Events Project
4. AP Environmental flickr Digital Field Trip Project
Kids come tomorrow, but we won’t kick off these projects for a week or so. Stay tuned if you are interested in how to use these social media tools in your courses…
by derrickwillard on May 4, 2010 at 10:40 am · Filed under random and tagged: Life 1.0, Web 2.0
Writers block this week…I’ve managed a post a week since this started, but this week I’m struggling. Life 1.0 is dominating my attention this week, so not much time to follow up things in my Twitter feed or blogs I follow…
I often wonder how some prolific Twitterers I follow manage to find the time to stay omnipresent on Web 2.0. Are they addicted? Bored? Lonely? Trying hard to maintain a personal brand?
That’s all I got.
