1. Safe & Engaged Online Learning Collaborative Technology for K-12 Educators, Parents and Students by Jeff Cooper

2. Sustained Online Support Technology may: –Inspire students to become engaged self-motivated learners or –Lay dormant without sustained support for educators, students and parents

3. Practice into Theory This presentation offers links to sites useful for K-16 educators, parents and students. Titles are hyperlinked to actual site. Although these sites were chosen for pragmatic reasons, the theory behind their choice is to facilitate learning for both students and educators.

4. Safe Environments No one wants their child or student to be online where it isn’t safe. Many districts ban any use of synchronous chat because they fear predators, and end up filtering many safe sites as a precaution IRC (Internet Relay Chat), Habbo Hotel (a purported kid friendly graphic site) and various instant messengers have few safeguards against “outsiders” Without safe alternatives and guidance, students may find themselves making poor choices

5. Multi-User Virtual Environments n Tapped In: Educational Collaborative Community Tapped In n Both Real Time and Asynchronous n Safe Student Environment n Web Page Projection, File Sharing, Threaded Discussion, Logged Text Chat, Many other tools

6. Moodle: Opensource Classroom

8. Free Online Portfolios, Webquests, Conference Directory, Student Assessment System

9. Open Source Portfolio Initiative

10. Email Systems and Projects For the same reason many sites are banned by districts, many disallow their students having or using email. Email is the most useful and important collaborative tool on the Internet. Email systems and project sites that provide safe access should be encouraged and not banned.

11. K-12 Email Collaborative Tool 182 Countries 65,000 Classrooms 2.2 million students Start online friendships and projects, break down classroom walls Related links: IECC, I*EARNIECCI*EARN

12. T-Mail T-Sail T-Time T-Mail: Email Translation T-Sail: Webpage Translation T-Time: Web Page Creation Translation (coming soon)

13. International Listserv Archived Projects Email-based IECC Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections

14. Projects Registry CyberFair News Lists GeoGame Make a Difference Online Expeditions Newsday Global SchoolNet is an excellent collaborative learning site. GHS facilitates opportunities for teachers to collaborate, communicate, and celebrate shared learning experiences. This website is free to all educators.

15. Online Science and Math Projects Multidisciplinary projects to join

16. Takingitglobal.org International student run projects and organization

17. Online email listserv manager Archives messages Public/private option Database manager Calendar and Chat Moderate or not Online File Storage (20meg per group) Online File Sharing

18. Blogs Allow easy webpage creation RSS links blogs together

19. Weblog or “blogger” Online journal, either for individual or group work Free and ad free

20. del.icio.us

21. Bloglines: Weblog Organizer

22. Useful Tools A workman is only as good as his tools Professional development Public bookmarks for collaboration Easy to use webpage creation Online lesson plans Online quizzes Online rubrics

23. n Social Studies Chatboard Social Studies Chatboard Social Studies Chatboard n Resources: Gov’t., Law, Geography, History, Social Studies,Maps, Lesson Plans Resources: Gov’t., Law, Geography, History, Social Studies,Maps, Lesson Plans Resources: Gov’t., Law, Geography, History, Social Studies,Maps, Lesson Plans n Grade Level (and other) Chatboards Grade Level (and other) Chatboards Grade Level (and other) Chatboards

24. Edutopia: Professional Development from George Lucas Educational Foundation

25. N.Y. Times Learning Network: Portal Site Archived Lesson Plans Highly Articulated Includes Standards

26. Over 500 K-12 Constructivist Lessons Interactive with MS Office Suite Allows teachers flexibility in both content and approach to lessons and tech Enactz: Lessons Enactz: Lessons Pedera: Staff Development Pedera: Staff Development

27. OpenCourse.org: Professional Collaborative

28. Online Bookmarks Accessible from any online computer File sharing capabilities Related Sites: backflip clickmarks myhqbackflip clickmarksmyhq

29. URL Redirector Make long addresses short Free account creation allows you to save and create alias links (example: http://snipurl.com/cooperebay ) http://snipurl.com/cooperebay Add toolbar to your computer Important tool for getting students, teachers etc. quickly to the right webpage

31. Online virtual tour or webquest organizer Allows teachers to create up to 15 links for student browsing Searchable database for K-12 tracks

32. Online rubric generator Editable templates Data analysis

33. Quizstar: Free Web Based Quizzes Include Multiple Choice, True/False, and Short Answer Questions Group Your Students by Class Name Activate, deactivate and archive quizzes Search Quiz Database for Ideas, Quizzes by Colleagues

34. Useful Links: Safe Online Communities The following sites have hundreds of links for kids and teens to get online and play, learn, and communicate with their peers. Building Safe Online Communities for Kids Computers in Education: Online Communities for Kids Over 10,00 Reviewed Sites for Kids and Teens Kids and Teens Online Communities Online Communities Google Search: Online Communities DirectoryKids.com: Online Communities

35. Conclusion Technology best practice requires tools and support Collaboration with peers and student- centered learning leads to more fulfilling education for teachers, students, and parents Additional support is available from Jeff Cooper