School 2.0 and Classroom 2.0

School 2.0 is the adaptation of Web 2.0 technologies within the school setting. When discussing School 2.0 with others I find that School 2.0 and Classroom 2.0 are very similar. Maybe, this is why Steve Hargadon set up both School 2.0 and Classroom 2.0 social networking sites at Ning. School 2.0 encompasses the broader perspective of how technology is being applied throughout the school setting, whereas Classroom 2.0 is more individualized on a per teacher/classroom basis. I am continually learning something new and passing it along to my students via these technologies. The passing along bit is a good example of how School 2.0 transforms into Classroom 2.0. Nevertheless, there is a fine line between what I call old school, School 1.0, and School 2.0. My previous post attempts to explain the differences between these schools as I see them.

How I am experimenting with School 2.0/Classroom 2.0 technologies.

When my students enter the media lab tomorrow, they will logon to the school network and then go directly to moodle (i.e. classroom management software). In moodle I have set up a class for each of the classes that I teach. Once students login an assignment has been posted and they find the post and then follow the instructions to complete their assignment. The only problem that I currently have with moodle within my school setting is that it is only accessible via the Intranet. Internet access to moodle would be a great advantage for students that are absent and for students that work slower than others. I hope this will change in the very near future.

When my students login to moodle tomorrow they will be directed to our class blog [Bishop Blog]. At the class blog, I have set up podcasts/MP3s that provide the day’s lesson. While and after listening to the audio files my students will complete their assignments. Three of my classes will be listening to a very short audio file and then they will work on adding information to a previous presentation. When they finish they will upload their presentation to moodle to be graded. However, before I grade the presentation, they will present the presentation in class for their peers and as a collaborative we will look for and correct the errors. I have the students point out the errors and I make sure they do this in a non condemning way. I interject my 2 cents based on my professional knowledge and my students go back and make the corrections. At some point in time we will share the best presentations at our class wiki [Bishop Blogs Wiki]. Some basic presentations have already been added to our wiki.

My other classes will listen to a longer podcast that explains and asks a series of questions. These students will create a word processing document with their answers and upload it to moodle to be graded. Like the presentations, these docments will be reviewed in class as a collaborative and students will point out the errors and suggest corrections. Again, I will interject my 2 cents based on my professional knowledge. At some point in time we hope to share some of these documents at our class wiki along with the original MP3 files. After the classes finish their assignments they are required to add comments to the blog post for their assignment.

Currently, most of the aforementioned technology is being used in a Classroom 2.0 fashion, with exception to the blog. Sure, I am adding audio files and creating assignments there, but students aren’t currently blogging on their own. They are merely commenting on the assignments. In the future I hope to help students set up personal blogs of their own related to class content and I would like to establish a safe social networking site for my students that we don’t have to block. Next year, I am certain that I will have some of my students creating class content related podcasts and maybe even some vodcasts. I hope to have other teachers applying these technologies to exemplify the true meaning of School 2.0 as well.

Suggestions that will to improve my classes are welcome! Moreover, tell me how you are using Web 2.0 technologies in your classes or in your school…

Regards,

William Bishop (Bill)

Technorati Tags: classroom2.0, school2.0, learning, education, technology, k12, moodle, wiki, blog, williambishop, lostjohns