Collaboration Tools
Trackstar
Trackstar is a tool that can help teachers in their lesson planning. It allows teachers to create a "track" or an online lesson plan, or a lesson plan that incorporates some online elements. Teachers can collect websites to create their own tracks, or they can view any others already created by other educators. Trackstar is powered by 4teachers.org. It has an extensive "terms of use" page that should be reviewed for complete understanding of this website before they utilize it. Teachers can search for other tracks by identification number, a keyword, grade level, or creator of the lesson. Teachers can create quizzes for their tracks, or can start a website for their tracks.
There is a login component to this website. Trackstar is free for all educators in public and non-profit schools, specialty schools do have to pay a fee to use this website. By using this program, teachers can collaborate to create lesson plans across great distances (state lines, oceans, and districts). Teachers can also take ideas from this website and incorporate the ideas from others' lesson plans into their instruction on a particular topic. Teachers who use this tool can more effectively manage their time. Although this website is not perfect, it can certainly help ease the arduous burden of lesson planning for many educators that are feeling strapped for time. Teachers who are unsure of meaningful ways to teach specific topics can search by keyword and grade level to see ideas from other educators.
There is a login component to this website. Trackstar is free for all educators in public and non-profit schools, specialty schools do have to pay a fee to use this website. By using this program, teachers can collaborate to create lesson plans across great distances (state lines, oceans, and districts). Teachers can also take ideas from this website and incorporate the ideas from others' lesson plans into their instruction on a particular topic. Teachers who use this tool can more effectively manage their time. Although this website is not perfect, it can certainly help ease the arduous burden of lesson planning for many educators that are feeling strapped for time. Teachers who are unsure of meaningful ways to teach specific topics can search by keyword and grade level to see ideas from other educators.
Wikispaces
Retrieved from:
http://classroom2pt0.wikispaces.com/Edmodo+%26+Wikispaces
(12/8/11)
Wikispaces are available for education, private or business use. Wikispace is a online collaboration tool that allows educators to create wikis. Wikis are a website that students, and teachers can use to put up important information, class projects, homework, discussions, group projects etc. Wikispace has made creating a wiki fast and efficient for educators to incorporated into there classroom. Teachers can simply create a wikispace for each of their students in a three step process. Teachers and students will be able to then access the wikispace from any where of there choosing as long as they have an internet connection.
Wikispaces provides endless opportunities for collaboration in the K-12 curriculum. Wikispaces are free with the basic package which includes unlimited pages and stellar visual editor. In order to receive more privacy settings wikispaces offers a plus package for about $5 a month and a super package for $20 month. Wikispaces offers many different features including: one click to edit, embedded media, inserting images, inserting symbols, changing font size, shape and color. This tool also keeps track of every revision made on the wiki to ensure that no information is lost. In order to understand more on how to start and create your own wiki click on the link to take a tour: http://www.wikispaces.com/content/wiki-tour.
An instructional strategy that could be incorporated into this collaboration tool is a classroom discussion on a novel or book that has been read in class. This wiki will allow every student to interact with other students thoughts helping to increase comprehension and writing skills.
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PBWorks
Retrieved from:http://pbworks.com/
(12/8/11)
PBWorks has many hubs that include a legal hub, a business hub, and an education hub. The education hub boasts many features that can help teachers effectively engage with their students in cyber space. PBWorks is an online collaboration tool that allows teachers to create an online workspace that students can access in and out of class, and that parents can see at home. Parent-teacher relationships can be enhanced through this tool, as teachers can post assignments and their due dates, exams, and sign-ups for special events. Teachers can utilize this tool to ease the paper trail of notes being sent home, and to help parents know what their students are learning and working on. PBWorks can also allow for students to have access to class notes (helpful for students who are absent) or those who have difficulties with note taking. Students can utilize group workspaces to collaborate to complete group projects that previously would have required meeting times outside of class.
Although the basic edition is free for instructional use, the classroom edition is $99 per year. With this upgrade, educators have "premium security and access control" that can protect students' privacy and prevent inappropriate content from appearing with no consequences. There is also a campus edition that costs $799 a year, but allows for teachers to use this tool in more than one class. This edition would be ideal for middle schools, as each student could have access to PBWorks, not just one class having access. Despite the price, this website contains many valuable ways to connect students with their materials, their parents with their materials and work, and students with other students.
Although the basic edition is free for instructional use, the classroom edition is $99 per year. With this upgrade, educators have "premium security and access control" that can protect students' privacy and prevent inappropriate content from appearing with no consequences. There is also a campus edition that costs $799 a year, but allows for teachers to use this tool in more than one class. This edition would be ideal for middle schools, as each student could have access to PBWorks, not just one class having access. Despite the price, this website contains many valuable ways to connect students with their materials, their parents with their materials and work, and students with other students.
ePals
EPals is the world’s largest K-12 social learning network where students, teachers, or parents can create a free account. This website allows students, teachers, and families to collaborate through technology and connect in a project-based learning network. There are classrooms on the website from over 200 countries, so it is easy to connect with people all over the world in addition to locally and nationally. ePals contains a “Projects” tab for classroom collaboration, which provides numerous projects with topics, essential questions, overview, and a community. Communities all around the world can collaborate on the same project. This online interactive learning is beneficial because it provides a way to collect and share ideas with students who have various perspectives. Projects can be viewed in PDF form, which allows users to change the appearance of the text and have it read to them. By having accessible communication through the internet, students can type or use text to speech to help them communicate. ePals also provides a safe student email account, providing students with another easy way to collaborate with one another.
Once a user signs up for ePals, they are brought to their home page. Here, they can access their school e-mail, projects and activities, ePals learning pages, classroom tools, collaborative projects, community corner, resources, and a wanted section. The page provides clear headings and is organized to help students easily navigate through the page.
EPals allows students to interact with other students around the world, so it is important for teachers to take advantage of students' cultural knowledge and implement ePals in their lessons by using either of the two lessons provided below:
-https://sites.google.com/site/eportfoliosamanthaastolfi/web-2-0-tools-lesson-plans/epals-lesson-plan
-http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/act/grade6/act6.asp?ID=423
Once a user signs up for ePals, they are brought to their home page. Here, they can access their school e-mail, projects and activities, ePals learning pages, classroom tools, collaborative projects, community corner, resources, and a wanted section. The page provides clear headings and is organized to help students easily navigate through the page.
EPals allows students to interact with other students around the world, so it is important for teachers to take advantage of students' cultural knowledge and implement ePals in their lessons by using either of the two lessons provided below:
-https://sites.google.com/site/eportfoliosamanthaastolfi/web-2-0-tools-lesson-plans/epals-lesson-plan
-http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/act/grade6/act6.asp?ID=423