Invitation to Collaborate

Are you a teacher of gifted and talented students? Would you like more ideas and resource for your classroom? Are you interested in networking with others in gifted education? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should consider joining The Gifted Teachers Exchange Wiki.

I launched The Gifted Teachers Exchange Wiki in July of 2011 as an interactive space for PreK-12 gifted and talented teachers to share units, lesson ideas, best practices, and much more. Members are encouraged to upload content and contribute to the community library of resources. This fast growing wiki is an ideal a place to network with other educators. Right now, there are about 66 members who come from different parts of the United States, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The wiki even has a Skype Contact List to connect with other GT classes or educators! The idea is to join, share, and collaborate.

The Gifted Teachers Exchange also has an accompanying group on Diigo, a popular social bookmarking site. With this group, members are able to browse and add their favorite bookmarks that pertain to gifted education, learning, and teaching. To browse and join the Diigo Group, click here.

Interested in joining? Follow these steps:

1. Click here to request access.

2. Include your email address (preferably from your school or district).

3. In the Message box, tell me: a) where and what grade levels you teach, b) your Twitter handle (if applicable), and c) how you heard about this wiki.

4. Enter the letter in the box at the bottom and hit the “send to administrator” button.

5. Next Steps: You will be notified by email when your request is approved for the wiki and also receive an email invitation to the Diigo group once you’re approved.

I hope that you consider joining and look forward to sharing.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank @KTVee for creating our snazzy banner. I would also like to thank @KTvee, @edu_ms_pagano, @ColoradoGKN, @ljconrad, @ladyhello, and @rondmac for spreading the word on Twitter about the Gifted Teachers Exchange Wiki. Feel free to follow and use the #gtew hash tag on Twitter for updates and to spread the word!

Gifted 2.0: Skype

What is Skype?

Skype is a video chat tool that connects people worldwide by allowing users to make video calls and voice calls to other users for free. Other features such as instant chat, to type messages to those on your contact list, and screen sharing, where users can share their desktop during chats, are also included. And for a small monthly fee, you can make a group video call with up to 10 people at a time.

Application

Skype has the capacity to connect gifted learners with the world and to offer enriching, real-life learning experiences. Some ways to use Skype in the gifted classroom include:

1. Bringing in Expert Voices
2. Cultural Exchange
3. Sharing and Collaborating

Here is a video of my, Skype in the Classroom session at the Reform Symposium Global E-Conference in July. I outline how to get started, places to find partners, and project ideas.



Resources

To accompany my presentation, I have included a Resource Handout that includes my favorite resources for Skype.

Gifted 2.0: Social Bookmarking

What is Social Bookmarking?

Social bookmarking involves saving bookmarks on a site rather than a web browser and sharing these publicly online. This is done by setting up an account with an existing social bookmarking site such as del.icio.us, Diigo, Google Bookmarks, Livebinders, ZooTool, and Symbaloo. With most of these sites, users are able to:

1. Create bookmark lists, which can be sorted by category or topic. This makes it easier to retrieve or find them later on.

2. Import existing bookmarks from one’s web browser. This is a good strategy to back up all your bookmarks and to have access to them from any computer.

3. Export bookmarks saved on one bookmarking site to another (i.e. From del.icio.us to Google Bookmarks or Diigo). This is recommended as backup because there’s no guarantee that a site will be around forever.

4. Cross-post between two sites (i.e. between Diigo and del.icio.us). Again, it is recommended to back up any bookmarks across sites just to be sure.

5. Set up a free educator account, where teachers are able to set up student accounts.

Just as blogs connect people to what others write, social bookmarking allows for people to see what others read (Richardson, 2006). Social bookmarking is very collaborative in nature. Its labeling and tagging features offer a convenient way to keep track, organize, retrieve, and share bookmarks with others (Eckstein, 2009; Witt, 2009). Also, several social bookmarking sites have groups that one can join to connect with other users on that site. If you come across a link that you like, you have the option of connecting with the user who posted that link by joining their group or adding their bookmark lists or links to your own lists. In this context, social bookmarking creates a community of researchers (Richardson, 2006).

Application

Social bookmarking can be a valuable tool for the gifted classroom. The most common use of social bookmarking can be found in research type projects, where students can gather, label, and organize links that they come across during their research. However, there is much more to social bookmarking. In order to push students to higher order thinking, particularly in evaluating, teachers can have students compare and contrast links that were bookmarked by different groups or individuals on any given topic. Students can explain their reasoning for saving that bookmark and why they felt those were important resources.

Here are other project ideas that incorporate social bookmarking:

1. Service Learning Projects- Students can compile a list of community resources to help plan or organize a service learning project.

2. Career Exploration- In researching a profession or career students can gather sites that outline career options and schools, universities, or resources pages that outline the preparation required for these.

3. Independent Research Projects- Students can gather their own resources for a particular topic and share or compare bookmarks with other students with similar interests.

4. Favorite Classroom Sites- As a class, students can collect bookmarks to gaming, puzzles, or other favorite sites that they visit during class. This list can be embedded on a class blog or site to share with parents and the global community. This list also provides access to the sites when students are not in school.

Resources



7 Things You Should Know about Social Bookmarking (PDF Document)

Webtools4u2use: Social Bookmarking

Livebinder on Social Bookmarking in the Classroom

How to Share Links with Students
Cybraryman’s Social Bookmarking Page

Educational Origami Starter Sheets (For Diigo and Delicious)

Using Social Bookmarking for Differentiation

Social Bookmarking Roles (Shared by @tcash on Twitter)

Educational Origami: Social Bookmarking Rubric

References

Eckstein, M. (2009). The Gifted Kids Network: 2008 Pilot. Gifted Child Today, 32(2), 20-28.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Witt, D. (2009). Strategies for the tech-savvy classroom. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Your Invitation to Reform Symposium's E-Conference

In a few days, nearly 8000 educators from over 40 different countries are expected to attend a free 3 day virtual conference, The Reform Symposium, #RSCON3. This free award-nominated e-conference is going to take place on July 29-31st, 2011. Participants can attend this online conference from the comfort of their homes or anywhere that has Internet access. This amazing conference provides educators new or currently active on social networks the opportunity to connect with educators and professionals in the field of education worldwide. With over 12 Keynotes, 80 presenters, and 3 keynote panel discussions you are bound to be inspired!

View the schedule to plan which presentations you will attend!
Download the flyer to share with your school!
Watch this Youtube video of January 2011's conference!
See if your school will count this as continuing education credit!
Consider hosting a viewing party!

We would like to thank the incredible organizers- Shelly Terrell, Kelly Tenkely, Chris Rogers, Lisa Dabbs, Melissa Tran, Clive Elsmore, Mark Barnes, Ian Chia, Cecilia Lemos, Jerry Blumengarten, and Kyle Pace- and Steve Hargadon of Classroom 2.0 and The Future of Education online communities for making this incredible conference possible.

We hope you can join us for this incredible professional development experience!

Here is a preview of my presentation, Using Skype in the Classroom.

Gifted 2.0: Wikis

What is a wiki?

Wikis are another excellent tool to collaborate online. Wikis were named after the Hawaiian word wiki-wiki, which means fast (Fitzgibbon, 2010; Richardson, 2006; Witt, 2009). Wikis are public forums where individuals and groups of individuals publish content online. Wikis have many uses across fields. Some corporations have used wikis to manage business documents, information, and team projects, while universities have been found to use wikis for learning and collaboration among their faculty and students (Richardson, 2006). The idea is to create a space where anyone can post, edit, or publish content on a wiki at anytime (Richardson, 2006). Wikis are participatory in nature and offer a non-linear approach to sharing and retrieving information (Fitzgibbon, 2010).While the most people are familiar with Wikipedia, two of the most commonly used wikis in education are wikispaces and PB works.

Application

Wikis provide an ideal platform for online enrichment learning opportunities. They can be created in place of a class website, with pages including assignments, videos, and links to pertinent websites on specific topics (Eckstein, 2009). Teachers can also create student accounts which allow users to add, edit, and share content on the wiki.

Here are some ways to use wikis in the gifted classroom:

1. Publishing Student Work-Wikis can be also used as a virtual space where students both gather information and post products. If a teacher is exploring a specific topic, she can post information on that topic on a page and then designate another page where students can publish or post a research project or findings on a specific topic(Eckstein, 2009). Some examples of products that can be uploaded or included on a wiki include 1) a research report, that was edited and written by a group, 2) a presentation, which can include an Animoto slideshow, PowerPoint Presentation, glog, or 3) a podcast, where students audio record their findings. Google docs can also be embedded on a wiki.

2. Global Collaboration Projects-Several teachers have started projects to connect with other schools globally. The idea behind many of these projects is to have partner schools post information pertaining to their target culture, country, or a specific topic. See the Resources section for some sample projects.

3. More Project Ideas

*Write a book as a class, where each group is responsible for a chapter, and embed it as an e-book

*Create an “All About Me” wiki page where students can include information such as favorites (music, food, book, etc) along with hobbies and interests. This would be excellent for the beginning of the year.

*Participate in a collaborative writing project with a partner class from a different state or another country.

*Create a wiki on a topic of interest which was researched independently. Students can include favorite links, pictures, and (how to) videos.

*Share the findings to an experiment. Upload observations and have partner class try the same experiment to share and compare findings.

*Use the wiki as an online portfolio where students can store and share work samples and reflections.

These project ideas have been modified from Diane Witt (2009).

Resources

Getting Started:

Technology 4 Kids: Wikis- A great collection of resources and video tutorials.

Teaching Tips: Wikis in the Classroom

Cybraryman’s List of Educational Wikis

Wikis in the Classroom- An introduction to wiki uses in the classroom and some class examples

How to Guide for Wikis

Wikispaces Starter Sheet

Wikis in the K-5 Classroom- Examples of elementary classroom PBworks wikis & ideas.

50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom

Projects:

Animals Wiki- Join this wiki to share information on different animals in various languages.

Global Hello Project-Create a page about your school and say hello in your own special way!

Greetings from the World-Create a glog showcasing your city or country and share it here!

Green School Project- Students from around the world are welcome to share their environmental activities in their schools. This wiki explores the impact of global warming and sustainability.

Monster Project- This wiki is a continuation of a collaborative project with several schools, where each school describes one part of the overall monster, and then all schools use the combined descriptions to create monsters to display at their sites. The project aims at building communication skills, creativity, collaborative skills, and writing skills.

Class Wiki Examples:

Grade Two Class Wiki

Mr. Tillman’s Class Wiki- Great example of upper grade class wiki that includes assignments, class updates, and projects.

References

Eckstein, M. (2009). Enrichment 2.0: Gifted and talented education for the 21st century. Gifted Child Today, 32(1), 59-63.

Fitzgibbon, K. (2010). Teaching with wikis, blogs, podcasts & more. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Witt, D. (2009). Strategies for the tech-savvy classroom. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Gifted 2.0: Blogs

What is a blog?

Blogs have grown in popularity over the past few years. Blogs, also known as weblogs are sites where individuals post ideas, articles, or resources on a given topic (Fitzgibbon, 2010; Richardson, 2006; Witt, 2009). Blogs are started by a blogger, the person who writes and manages the blog. While blogs are usually reflective in nature, they also offer the option of sharing links or other resources on a topic. Nowadays, blogs are accessible and fairly simple to start and manage. There are several places to host a blog which include templates and gadgets that can easily be embedded. Some popular platforms include KidBlog, EduBlogs, Blogger, Word Press, and Posterous.

Types of Blogs

There are several uses for blogs in the gifted classroom. Blogs can be used as a reflective learning tool. Here are some examples of blogs that students can post:

Academic Blogs- Students can reflect on topics or strategies that were learned in class. With these types of academic blogs, students can discuss their reactions to a literary text or character, solutions to problems in the environment, or even alternate approaches or solutions to equations in mathematics.

Reflective Blogs- Students can treat their blogs as an online journal. With this approach, students can choose their own topic to blog about, such as their favorite day of the week, or write about a preselected topic. Teachers may also allow gifted students to write their stance on controversial issues or current events that deal with the environment, politics, or society, all of which are topics that can be of interest to gifted learners (Witt, 2009). Blogging about these topics gives gifted learners the chance to develop voice and take a stand on an issue.

Classroom Blogs- This type of blog showcases what students have accomplished in the classroom. Pictures, videos, and other technology projects can be embedded and uploaded on the blog for parents, families, the community, and even the world to see! To engage students in this process, they can be in charge of writing and publishing the content of the class blog.

Issues to Consider

Parental/Guardian Consent- Before setting up any kind of blog, it is recommended to obtain parental/guardian consent for uploading student posts, work, pictures, or other media. Many school districts issue and require this consent through publicity and technology use forms, but it is wise to double check with your school district or create another permission form specifically for your class.

Internet Safety-Before your students start to blog, it is important to review some guidelines to protect their identities. Personal information such as full names, age, home or school addresses, phone numbers, and email should not be shared on blogs. Many class blogs I have come across only allow students to use their first names or create a pseudonym.

Netiquette- Before students begin to blog, rules of netiquette (internet etiquette) along with certain academic standards and guidelines should be discussed and set. This is especially important if you plan on creating an academic or reflective blog. Other issues such as cyberbullying and appropriate content should also be discussed.

Interactive Features- Widgets like cluster and revolver maps show where readers are from while other gadgets like Shelfari (virtual bookshelf) allow for teachers to add books that students are reading or have studied. Links to other class blogs and favorite learning websites can also be added. By adding these widgets and gadgets, the classroom blog can act as an interactive classroom site for students, parents, and the audience.

Group vs. Individual Blogs- If you opt for an academic/reflective type blog, another issue to consider is whether to create a group blog or have students create their own individual blogs. I have come across examples of both and it is ultimately up to the teacher to decide which type will best meet the needs of her students and be more manageable. It is recommended to use blogging platforms where the teacher manages and approves all student posts before they are published and have settings to monitor comments as well.

Resources

Here is a list of resources that can help you get started and offer ideas for classroom or student blogs:

Blogging with Elementary Students-Look under the “Downloads” section for units and tips on how to start and manage student blogs as well as prepare students for blogging and commenting.

Blogging LiveBinder-Compiles several resources on how to get started, tips, along with student samples and projects.

Blog4 Edu-This wiki offers a great collection of resources like video tutorials for getting started, sample permission forms, and internet safety tips.

Cybraryman's Blog Site--Another excellent collection of resources for student, class, and teacher blogs.

Teacher's First Blog Basics--This site introduces blogs and offers ideas for the classroom.

Creating Effective Blogs-This is an excellent blog that provides a collection of video tutorials and resources on how to create a blog.

Blog Soup Ideas-Great prompts for Gifted learners!

58 Interesting Ideas for Class Blogs

Student Blogging Challenge

References

Fitzgibbon, K. (2010). Teaching with wikis, blogs, podcasts & more. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Richardson, W. (2006). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Witt, D. (2009). Strategies for the tech-savvy classroom. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press.

Gifted 2.0: An Exploration of Web 2.0 Tools & Their Place in the Gifted Classroom

With the push to integrate more technology in the classroom, many educators are starting to take notice of different tools to use with their students. As we start integrating more tools, we also introduce students to different learning environments and 21st century learning skills. Further, these tools fit perfectly into the gifted curriculum, where project-based learning, collaboration, and creativity (among other skills) are encouraged. For the next few weeks I will share several tools that I have researched and utilized in my own classroom. In addition, I will offer some project ideas in hopes of starting a dialogue of how you are using Web 2.0 or other technologies in your own classroom.