Web 2.0 is a term that is used to describe the 2nd generation of the web that focuses on collaboration and evolution of the internet.
Wikipedia describes Web 2.0 as a, "site that allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a
social media dialogue as consumers of
user-generated content in a
virtual community, in contrast to websites where users (
prosumers) are limited to the active viewing of
content that they created and controlled. Examples of Web 2.0 include
social networking sites,
blogs,
wikis,
video sharing sites,
hosted services,
web applications,
mashups and
folksonomies."
Web 2.0 has greatly affected education and the way teachers and students teach and learn. I've decided to compile a list of my favorite web 2.0 sites for education, all are great examples of
educational leadership. However, I'm focusing strictly on sites that have an educational portal//instance. What I mean by this is that each site has a section for teachers or a way of controlling the content that students produce. This can be done either by educational accounts, monitoring by teachers, filtering, etc etc. Most of these sites are free but can offer more services via paid subscription...
Top 25 Web 2.0 Sites for Education
- Google/Gaggle - Google Apps are some of the most popular services for document creation and collaboration. Also, the suite of tools that Google Apps covers is quite abundant such as: web page creation, groups, spreadsheets, etc. Gaggle has a great suite of filtered tools (check out their collaboration w/ Zoho) to make ideal for education. Gaggle allows for filtered blogging, chatting, messaging boards, and filtered videos in You Tube, etc.
- Edmodo - A wonderful free site that creates an educational environment for students that focuses on skills such as blogging and collaboration.
- Glogster - A great multi-media site for creating interactive posters that can be viewed online. Plus, student accounts can be created by an educator w/out the need of a student email!!
- Voice Thread - One of the most popular web 2.0 sites around. An ideal site for creating interactive presentations/slide shows.
- Myths & Legends - A free site that is wonderful for digital storytelling. All a teacher has to do is get approval from a school administrator to sign a school up for this great service!!
- Animoto - Create dynamic slide shows w/ one of the most popular slide show creators on the web!!
- Mixbook - A great way to create a safe & secure environment for students to create online or real books (for order).
- Prezi - The evolution of presentations has arrived w/ this zoomable presentation creator. Also, there is an educational portal in the works.
- Aviary Education - A safe secure way that offers a lot of different services for students such as: photo editor, audio editor, and movie creator.
- Diigo - An ideal site for social bookmarking that allows teachers to create student account for sharing and annotating links.
- Weebly - A fantastic site for creating a student or teacher websites w/ the ability to blog.
- ToonDoo Spaces - One of the best online comic creators that allows for student accounts.
- Kidblog - One of the top ways for students to create blogs in a safe environment.
- Primary Access - A nice site for digital story telling that allows students to use a variety of different resources such as video, audio, photos, etc.
- Zoho Wiki - Similar to Google Apps, this online suite offers a secure way for students to create docs and share.
- Kerpoof - A multi-media site for creating stories, games, lessons, etc.
- Zimmertwins - A fun site for digital storytelling that is done by creating one student account for a class.
- SymbalooEdu - A great visual way for teachers to share sites and resources w/ students.
- Pixton - An excellent way to create online digital comics that is moderated by a teacher.
- Zunal - A fantastic webquest creator for teachers.
- Alice Storytelling - One of the best ways to learn about the basics of programming as well as digital storytelling (a free pc download).
- Story Jumper - A great way for students to create real or online stories and then have the ability to order a book.
- Storybird - A fun site for collaborative and digital storytelling.
- Magic Studio - A wonderful site for teachers to share multimedia resources w/ students.
- Museum Box - A great historical site for teachers and students to create multimedia projects.
Soon to follow is a free slide show on the Top 25 Web 2.o sites!!!
Quicklyst is a site I just found out about from Richard Byrne's award winning blog, Free Technology 4 Teachers. This is a site that is designed to help users take notes and create outlines w/ a easy user interface. Also, there are some nice features for searching w/in notes and the built-in reference guide for terms.
FunnelBrain is a great new (beta) site for creating flashcards and quizzes w/ a web 2.0 spin for collaborating and creating study teams.
TeachAde is a social network site designed for educators. I'm relatively a new user but I see a lot of promise here w/ tons of educational resources. There's lot to see here and download such as: videos, articles, and lesson plans.
PodOmatic is an excellent site for creating podcasts that I found out about from the award nominated blog (and wonderful educator, Shelly Terrell), Teacher Reboot Camp. This site is very user friendly and makes it easy to create a podcast and then add audio via iTunes. Once a podcast is created it can then be embedded into a site.
PikiFriends is a wonderful site for introducing web 2.0 skills via an online "pen-pal" system. This is ideal for education because it is being filtered and teachers have a lot of control over student accounts. Also, there are a number of great resources on this site and an already well designed curriculum that helps integrate PikiFriends into a classroom.
Connect-a-sketch is a new (beta) site for taking sketches/images and then creating a flow chart out of them. This can be done by uploading an image and then creating links to tie everything together into one smooth flowchart. Also, Connect-a-sketch has a nice user interface that is all drag-n-drop which makes it ideal for users.
Huffduffer is a great site for creating podcasts from audio links around the web. This is done by the use of a bookmarklet and is very easy to use. Also, a user can tag links they find to create multiple podcasts and for easier organization.
Pockets is a great little site that I found out about on Twitter from Ozge Karaoglu. This is a fun site to leave voice mails over Twitter. The way this works is you type in a Twitter user's username (try mine if u like dkapuler) and then record a voice mail after Pockets calls you over the computer. Then when a recipient checks their Twitter feed they will see a link which will then retrieve their voice mail.
Web 2.0 is a term that is used to describe the 2nd generation of the web that focuses on collaboration and evolution of the internet. Wikipedia describes Web 2.0 as a, "site that allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as consumers of user-generated content in a virtual community, in contrast to websites where users (prosumers) are limited to the active viewing of content that they created and controlled. Examples of Web 2.0 include social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video sharing sites, hosted services, web applications, mashups and folksonomies."
PuzzleFast is a great site for making different types of puzzles (word, crossword, etc) that I found out about on the blog, ZarcoEnglish.
Quiet Write is a new (beta) site that I found about from the excellent educator, Larry Ferlazzo. This is a site that helps develop student's writing/creativity by giving them a place to write online. This is done by giving a user a unique URL and allows them to write in a safe/online forum. A user can then share their writing via that unique URL. This also works nicely on an iPad.