Social Media and Mobile Tools for Assignments and Collaboration David Keathly Working Connections 2010

Part I: Collaboration

Collaboration is Important Remember at the beginning of the workshop we discussed some of he “needs” of the Digital Natives Collaboration was one of those Coincidentally, collaboration and the ability to work and “play” well with others is important in most workplaces as well Teamwork skills, group dynamics, conflict resolution, task organization and using groupware tools are all important skills that are too often left to “on the job” training

Google is all about collaboration! Google Groups Shared storage Broadcast mailing Google Docs MS Office-like cloud applications Collaborative editing Shared storage Google Wave Discussions Collaborative editing Polls Maps All under Google Apps umbrella. Basic usage is free. Can also be configured for educational and business sites.

Private Social Network Tools Build your own custom Facebook-type environment for a class or group Tools Ning Demo Was free about to change Grou.ps Similar to ning and can convert ning networks Demo Elgg ww.elgg.org Lots of features Have to host yourself like moodle and drupal Edmodo Has web client, mobile client and iPhone app Demo Very classroom task-centric Groupsite

More Social Networks Twiducate

Let’s try some!

Wikis Wikis are a great way to collect information and provide information to students where they can collaborate as well. They are typically somewhat free- format so there is a lot of room for creativity Tools Wikispaces (we are using this!) Wikidot not freewww.wikidot.com Wetpaint Oriented towards fan sites Pbworks basic is freewww.pbworks.com Includes collaboration space and more Wikia

Build one or add to ours!

Meeting Together Face to Face meetings are not always possible or convenient. A number of tools, beside the Google ones, are available to help Tools Twiddla Online whiteboard for brainstorming and collective design, etc Doodle – Online event scheduling Voicethread – Annotate images, documents, videos and more Capture group discussions Includes drawing and sharing tools

More Meeting Tools DimDim Demo Powwow Now Phone conferencing iPhone App available

Let’s set up some meetings Break into groups of about 5 people each Each group try a different tool Set up a meeting and try out the various tools available Chat Talk Draw Share a doc or presentation What else can you do?

Keeping Teams Organized Project management-type packages are also available. Some are better than others and not all are free For a price (trials available) Backpack Basecamp Central Desktop Project360 For Free Zoho Planner Simple basic tasks, reminders, file sharing Vyew Collaboration plus online meeting Thinkfree Online document sharing and storage Has mobile apps for multiple platforms

More organizers GroupTable

Build a quick project in one of these tools

Part II: Social Media in Assignments

Checking out what others have done Social Media Classroom 100 uses of Social Media The Twitter Experiment – UT Dallas

Audio and Video Tools Having students collect audio and video notes and experiences outside of class is a great way to enhance their education and encourage them to explore and be creative. Then they can upload their info to your wiki our other class area

Video tools Bambuser Zing Video blogging

Audio tools audioBoo audioboo.fm Gabcast Record podcasts with your phone Gcast Similar to Gabcast Yodio Add voice annotation to photos Ipadio Broadcast live from phone Has apps for android and iPhone

Make some content! Pair up with a partner Make an audio interview Make a video interview Share them with the class!

Other Tools JotYou – www,jotyou.com Location based texting uMapper Creating maps

Part III: Shaping the Class Experience

Class Management Moodle Demo Drupal Schoology Eduslide elearning LCMS Udutu Online course authoring

Other Survey Tools Surveys are always useful! If you want something a little more sophisticated than some of the mobile ones we looked at before, then consider these Demo Paid or free

Build a survey Build a simple survey it to a partner for them to take Take it yourself View the results

Other Teacher Tools Quizinator Create studysheets, worksheets, exams and quizzes online

Misc Useful Mobile Apps On iTunes Gfiles Gflash Evernote moleTVShoot

Miscellany Lectr.com Online lectures Upload yours! Mini assignment – go find a lecture that interests you

Discussion Do you think these applications will be useful to you and your students? How do you see envision incorporating these into your classroom? Do you know of other applications that others in the group might find useful?