1. Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom

2. Web 2.0 Tools in a Social Studies Classroom ▪ Google Earth ▪ Bubble.us ▪ Facebook ▪ Twitter ▪ Prezi ▪ Google Groups

3. Google Earth ▪ 3-D mapping and geographical visualization program ▪ Available as a downloaded client or through the Web ▪ Allows user to add their own information ▪ Free

4. Why use Google Earth? ▪ American students, as a group, score poorly on world geography assessments (Schachter, 2012) ▪ Geography is more than labelling countries and capitals (Yundt, 2013) ▪ Brings context to discussions, aiding in both retention and engagement (Taylor & Plewe, 2006) ▪ Commonly used, already a lot of lesson plans available using Google Earth

5. How is Google Earth used? ▪ Answer research questions ▪ Instructional purposes ▪ Not just geography – History – Anthropology – Sociology – Civics/Political Science – Anything where places add context

6. Google Earth Wrap-up ▪ Brings worldwide mapping and satellite imagery into the classroom ▪ Supports Searching by address, Lat Long, or place name ▪ Has information in addition to maps – geo-located photos – 3-D building maps – Ability to add own information

7. Bubble.us ▪ Comprehensive and flexible mind- mapping system ▪ Available online ▪ Can share maps with others, both read-only and editable ▪ Free

8. Why Use Bubbl.us? ▪ The use of mind-mapping helps reinforce learning and future information retrieval (Wheeldon, 2011) ▪ Allows learners to visualize their knowledge, providing both practice and context in creation and retrieval ▪ Simple and easy to use

9. How is Bubble.us used? ▪ Use it as a study-aid by both teachers and students – Give visual representation of information – Gives practice in information retrieval ▪ Use it as an assessment tool – Formative – to ensure that students are gaining the information adequately – Summative – to ensure that content is retained (Making A Map : Mind Map Rubric, 2007)

10. Bubble.us Conclusion ▪ Create a central theme to the information to be shared ▪ Create related sub themes and display the relationship visually ▪ Share the output as desired

11. Facebook ▪ Social networking site, consisting of a personal representation (profile), social connections, and other items (applications) ▪ Most students will likely already be on the system ▪ Allows group sites as well as personal sites ▪ Free

12. Why use Facebook? ▪ As a communications tool between teacher and students ▪ As a community building tool ▪ Connects some of the student’s favorite informal learning experiences with the more formal learning experiences in school (Fewkes & McCabe, 2012)

13. How is Facebook used ▪ Used primarily as a group communications tool ▪ Secondary usage could include assessment where an individual or group maintained user page is evaluated for content

14. Facebook Summary ▪ Allows users (students and teachers) to share information with each other and build a community. ▪ Allows the ability to create posts ▪ Allows the ability to ask/answer questions

15. Twitter ▪ An online social networking and microblogging service ▪ Sends messages no more than 140 characters ▪ Viewable online or through free apps ▪ Users both send “tweets” and subscribe to read “tweets” from other users ▪ Free

16. Why Use Twitter? ▪ Active notification - users subscribe to notifications, so users (students in this case) will be notified as soon as the teacher posts a tweet. ▪ Properly formatted questions (using hashtags - #something) can be answered by subject matter experts ▪ Ability to interact with people world-wide

17. How is Twitter used? ▪ Twitter is used more as a learning tool than for assessment – Get tweeted information from experts – Ask questions to anyone in the twitterverse, classified by hashtag ▪ Use as a messaging platform between teachers and students

18. Twitter wrap-up? ▪ A user can be followed, which means their tweets will be immediately delivered ▪ Following gives user the ability to watch for tweets from others ▪ Hashtags (#something) allow for the grouping of information, lets multiple people tweet about the same thing.

19. Prezi ▪ Online presentation software ▪ Video and audio can be imported and included in the presentation ▪ Can act like a giant chalkboard for creativity, not like a traditional slide presentation program ▪ Free for limited usage

20. Why use Prezi? ▪ Online access to creating and viewing presentations ▪ Many different types of templates to give a start in creating an effective presentation ▪ Allows excellent, template control of the look and feel of a presentation

21. How is Prezi used? ▪ Can be used by an instructor to present information to the students ▪ Can be used by students to present information back to the class and/or instructor – Formative assessment – Summative assessment / Research or project write-up

22. Prezi Conclusion ▪ Creation is linear, like a “traditional” presentation program ▪ Display is all slides together on one screen ▪ Play feature moves the screen around, user can edit the flow of the screen as it moves around

23. Google Groups ▪ Acts as a community, either open or closed (by invitation only) ▪ Discussion Forum – allows students and teacher to have synchronous communication ▪ Mailing List – create one email and easily send it to the group ▪ Free

24. Why use Google Groups? ▪ Discussion forums build a sense of community and enhance learning in an online course (Misanchuk & Anderson, 2001). ▪ Supports both both active and passive learners (Nandi, Hamilton, & Harland, 2012) ▪ Available online and through various apps

25. How are Google Groups used? ▪ Email list supports communications between teacher and students ▪ Can be used as a learning tool by posting and discussing content ▪ Supports formative assessments through posting requirements and follow- through discussion

26. Google Groups Summary ▪ Discussion forums allow instructors to lead learning ▪ Forums also allow students to reply to instructors and interact with each other ▪ Integrated with the Google infrastructure

27. Conclusion ▪ There are, literally, hundreds of Web 2.0 tools available for instructors. ▪ Some tools are designed to support communications ▪ Other tools support presentation ▪ Many tools do a little bit of everything ▪ Tools should not be looked at as always providing information from instructor to students – they can be used as assessment tools where students create information for evaluation from the instructor

28. References ▪ Fewkes, A. M., & McCabe, M. (2012). Facebook: Learning tool or distraction. Journal of digital learning in teacher education, 28(3), 92-98. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ972449 ▪ Making A Map : Mind Map Rubric. (2007, Aug 30). Retrieved from Rubistar: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=109 5617& ▪ Misanchuk, M., & Anderson, T. (2001). Building Community in an online learning environment: Communication, cooperation and collaboration. Proceedings of the Annual Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference, (p. 22). Murfreesboro, TN. Retrieved from http://www.mtsu.edu/- itconf/proceed01/19.pdf ▪ Nandi, D., Hamilton, M., & Harland, J. (2012, May). Evaluating the quality of interaction in asynchronous discussion forums in fully online courses. Distance Education, 33(1), 5-30.

29. References (cont.) ▪ Schachter, R. (2012, June). Geography ed for a flat world. District Administration, 48(6), 28-33. ▪ Taylor, W., & Plewe, B. (2006). The effectiveness of Interactive maps in secondary historical geography education. Cartographic Perspectives, 55(Fall), 16-33. ▪ Wheeldon, J. (2011). Is a picture worth a thousand words? Using mind maps to facilitate participant recall in qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 16(2), 509-522. ▪ Yundt, H. (2013, Apr). Lost on a map. Canadian Geographic, 133(2), 6.