EtherPad

Ahhhh... EtherPad... I can't decide how I feel about this tool. I did try using it with my kids this past year. I clearly had not prepared them to use it effectively because it did not go very smoothly. I just remember a lot of arguing. It makes sense when you think about it. It would be frustrating to have someone cut in on my screen right this moment and start typing away. I would be so distracted and possibly lose my train of thought. That being said, I don't want to discount a tool simply because I did a poor job introducing it to them. We do a lot of group writing in our classrooms in fourth grade, so I think it could definitely come in handy. It may help to have each child engaged with their own screen and keyboard instead of just milling around behind the one person who is typing.

I started up an EtherPad just for fun. It's just a blanket statement about my conference in Houston (which was FANTASTIC) by the way. I think this link will take you there...

My EtherPad

A note about messaging with this tool... I had a group of boys use it outside of school as a messaging tool. They never seemed to be able to catch each other at the same time, but they did regularly check it and post new messages. As far as I know, it wasn't used during class, but it easily could be. There are so many ways to be able to message during class now, I can't imagine nixing a tool just because of that.

Come to think of it, this would be a great tool for PLC's. It would be easy to have our progress in a particular area posted on an Etherpad and have people jump on and comment. Just a thought...

On-Line Collaboration

Collaboration truly is an essential skill in the 21st century. We do many group projects in our room that force the children to work together and figure out ways to solve problems on their own. I am very interested in learning more about Wiggio. My first thought was that it would be handy for the divisions at BPS. I love the idea of a shared on-line calendar. With all of the things going on, it would be so helpful to have a place to go on-line and find out when report cards are due, if convo is on for the day or when play rehearsals begin. Sue R might have a more peaceful existence!

It sounds like the kids would have a central place to work together and would be able to continue their work at home. That is a very nice feature. And I like that we'd be able to track everyone's progress and have an idea of how much each student is contributing.

WallWisher was pretty cool, too. I love the idea of using it for exit slips. I was really inspired by the Differentiation conference I attended in Houston and hope to make use of exit slips to better group my students. This would be a very convenient way to do it. I sometimes worry about posting work for all to see, though. I don't want students to feel stupid in front of their peers if they are WAY off base. Hmmmm... I could see using this tool for students to create a mindmap for a piece of writing they would have to do as a group. Kind of stuck on this one...

I'm a big fan of Skype. I used it to connect with the Shoshone children in Wyoming when we were studying their tribe. I learned a lot from that experience about how to make it better. Number one - less questions! Number two - students should be our own age (instead of 2 years younger). Number three - must have more time for follow-up chats. One video conference was not enough. It generated a ton of new questions. We could use Skype to connect with kids across the country about weather or settings in our novels or places mentioned in Lewis and Clarks' travels. The more we can expose our students to other realities the better.