4+-+Communication+and+Collaboration

The opening class for this standard is going to be online. Here you will find information about this class.
We will meet on line at 9 o'clock AM on Tuesday morning October 6. Mrs. Hyatt will send you an email with directions to follow. This class's activity is structured around NET-S; continuing with 3-Technology Operations and Concepts and moving into 4-Communication and Collaboration. This activity will revolve around using Google Docs to complete a Web 2.0 excercise and completing a WebQuest

1. GOOGLE DOCS & ETHERPAD & WEB 2.0 APPLICATION Web 1.0 refers to web sites where the viewer reads and watches the screen. Web 2.0 differs from Web 1.0 in that it refers to web pages where the user interacts with the site. Users are no longer just passive viewers, but active participants. Web 3.0 applications, or 'cloud computing' is an even newer field, but for today's class we will focus on Web 2.0 applications.

Web 2.0 applications involve concepts and operations with technology that can be used in education. These are generally free applications. They are ubiquitous; evolving and changing rapidly. Today I want you to explore a variety of Web 2.0 applications available on the internet. I have created a Google Document, a spreadsheet, that has a lot of Web 2.0 applications listed, as well as their URL addresses. I would like you all to divide up the different applications; decide who will be responsible for finding and evaluating which sites. Then look up each site you are responsible for, and in the spreadsheet write a short description and short evaluation of your quick appraisal of it. After describing and evaluating your sites, post a comment to the discussion board on this wiki page about your reatcions to the applications you reviewed.

We will also use an Etherpad page to initially discuss the assignment and figure out who will research which applications. The use of Google docs and Etherpad are ways to communicate and collaborate at a distance.

2. WEBQUEST: The second part of class will be a webquest. When you have completed #1, do this webquest exercise. You may do this Tuesday morning or on your own time. But I will want you to bring the completed worksheet to class on October 13 for a discussion. WebQuests are online activities that hold great appeal to educators. I have examined them and discussed them with other educators. They look wonderful, but I have run into very few teachers who have actually implemented them into their curriculum. Today I want you to look at a special WebQuest, a webquest for learning about webquests. Go to this website: [] Click on 'elementary'. We want the whole class to look at the same level, so I've picked 'elementary'. However, feel free to look through other levels. They have very interesting sites. Print out the worksheet that is highlighted on that page. Pick a role to play: efficiency expert, affiliator, altitudinist, or technophile. Read the Introduction, The Task, and The Process. Complete 1 & 2 of the Process. We will complete the rest of the excercise in class on October 13, so bring a carefully filled out worksheet to class. Fill it in well enough so you will remember what you are talking about.

3. HOMEWORK Make sure #1 and #2 are completed. Please read two articles for homework.You can probably find both articles by using a google search. But I have provided links as well. The article "Is Google Making us Stupid". Google "Is Google making us stupid". It is an article written in the Atlantic Monthly by Nicholas Carr. Please read it and be prepared to discuss it in class on October 13. [|Click here for Article] Please also read the article "Computing the Cost: Nicholas Carr on how the Internet is rewriting our brain". It is an interview in the SUN magazine with the author of the article above. I'm not sure if the entire interview is online, but you only have to read what is available. There are two pages. Read and be prepared to discuss in class. [|Computing The cost]