Web 2.0: Creativity & Community Building

[Tom Daccord]

I try to incorporate Professor Ben Shneiderman's "Relate-Create-Donate" e-learning framework into my history classroom in an attempt to engender student-centeredness and service-learning. For instance, my students build an online repository of course notes (wiki) that all students use to prepare for tests, they create a 1930s "radio show" podcast that outsiders come listen to, they create a multimedia magazine to share with other classes, and they do community blogging (audio and text) on current and historical issues. I am interested in learning about other classroom attempts to use technology to foster student creativity and ownership as well as community mindfulness.

[Laurie Bartels]

Hi Tom,
Would love to hear from some of the students in your class and have them add to the discussion Fred started: So students, tell us what we could be doing better? An wiling to bet we could learn from them. Okay, I may have a bias, but nonetheless, it would be nice to hear from your students, whether they confirm or disavow my bias!

I have two examples to share . Our 7th grade Science teacher has her students using editme to create a vibrant and active wiki for an invasive species project. This is used in conjunction with a class blog and class podcasts, both of these which are used throughout the year. Students take turn blogging and podcasting.

The other use also involves an editme wiki; it is a Current Events wiki put in place by our 6th grade Social Studies teacher. This wiki includes commentary from students in our upper school, parents, grandparents, some college students, and even a nun from Indiana (which quite amazed a few people :-) Upper school students also visited one of the 6th grade SS classes to share their expertise regarding Darfur. Last year this same teacher had the entire 6th grade create public service announcements (using iMovie) as a way of informing others about child labor.

What grade is your history class?
Cheers, Laurie

[elizabeth helfant]

Our AP US and Regular US classes build an interactive electronic museum based on topics of their choosing. Each kid picks a topic and then we put them in groups of 2-5 based on common themes. Each group builds a table display and gets one computer to present their electronic museum display. They decorate the table and announce their topic and they must also stand at their exhibit the day we invite the community in and answer questions (thiis is the most imprressive part, watching them explain what they have learned) The year leading up to this includes a wide range of projects that use differnt types of technology so the kids can select the technology that works best with their museum ideas. The kids are also required to go to 2 muesums and discuss things that worked and were interesting on a ning sometime before the project kicks off in the 4th quarter. Two students are selected to be curators and they create a podcast tour of the museum that people can listen to as they visit. THey also create a color manual from the abstracts that each kid turns in about his part of the museum and they create the web interface to the entire museum.
Here are a few links about this
http://ramcast.micds.org:16080/stuweb/apus/main%20page.html
http://www.mapwing.com/explore/view_tour.php?t=xxADqPHbbHyqqhq

Our English classes are adding a few projects that have the students producing orignal work (poems are creative writing pieces) including illustrations and adding them to a mixbook site to produce an actual copy of student work for the offices and for their parents if they choose to purchase one.

[Jenny Zagariello]

Tom - Are your students publishing their "radio show" podcasts outside of your school community? How are the students using the podcasts? I am preparing a professional development workshop on audial media as teaching/learning tools, and I will pass on any ideas that are generated about use of podcasting to foster 21st century skills such as creativity. Thanks Jenny Z