ICT in the classroom » redback http://starnott.edublogs.org Looking at how to best get staff using the tools they have at their fingertips, to make learning engaging and real for the digital natives we teach. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:12:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 en hourly 1 Weeding through some tools http://starnott.edublogs.org/2008/11/19/weeding-through-some-tools/ http://starnott.edublogs.org/2008/11/19/weeding-through-some-tools/#comments Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:36:10 +0000 Suz Arnott http://starnott.edublogs.org/?p=59 This end of the year should be winding down, but somehow it always ends up being crazier than usual. Anyway, next Monday and Tuesday I am presenting at the VITTA conference, one session on Cool Web 2.0 tools and the other sharing the “Redback Project” engaging staff to explore some tools, and show them how they can actually make life easier. I always get a bit apprehensive when I present at something like the VITTA conference, because although I use all these tools, and I guess I have become a bit of an early adopter, and innovator in the classroom…. I am generally talking to IT teachers…  They know… stuff about computers… way more than me… anyway I generally go in over prepared, and nervous, and hope my point gets across….

The theme for this year’s conference is “Shift Happens: Technology alone will not save us”

The Redback one hopefully will be good, I hope it makes sense to other educators, and I know those of us who have already embedded so much of these we can forget what a challenge it is to get started with these tools, I think that is the kep point, keeping it all simple, taking little steps, and before they know it the participants have completed a range of tasks using Web 2.0 tools, and are starting to feel the confidence, and the desire to take them further.

Where do you start with the amazing range of tools available to us? I am going to take people through some of my favourites, and looking specifically at how they can be used in the classroom…

  • starting with blogs and wikis and moblogs
  • communication and sharing – del.icio.us, Diigo, Twitter and Clipmarks
  • Keeping track – RSS and Google tools
  • Social stuff – Ning
  • Other stuff… mobile technologies, fun stuff, and where to go to find things Go2Web2, Go2Web2 Blog  and Killerstartups
  • Global Teacher

I only have an hour, and I think I will be racing to cover it all… so will put my thoughts, discussions, links on my Redback wiki, as some good starting off points for that as well.

New venue this year… so I think I get to go on the new freeway… Looking forward to it :) I always get a heap of great ideas… and love being able to give back with some ideas of my own.

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