What does a Web 2.0 activity actually look like, and how can you go about setting one up?
Those were the kinds of questions I set out to answer when I embarked on the Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book activity. Previously, I had compiled a list of around 60 projects that teachers had undertaken, using Web 2.0 applications. That proved to be quite popular, and it met my aim of wanting to spread ideas and practice.
Notice that I didn't say 'spread good practice'. Clearly, it is not my intention to spread bad practice, or even mediocre practice. But it seems to me that the very terms 'good practice' and 'best practice' are value-laden. What I, in my circumstances, may regard as 'good' may, given your students and school set-up, be fairly pedestrian as far as you're concerned.
So, this updated collection of projects are largely self-selected. I invited contributions, and quite a few came in, from 94 contributors -- some of whom blog here on a regular basis. I asked would-be contributors for answers to specific questions, such as 'What challenges did you face in introducing this project into your school, and how did you overcome them?'
Where necessary, I emailed people individually to obtain further information. I was very clear in my mind that I wanted the projects to be replicable. So, even if providing a website for people to look was out of the question for safety reasons, I made sure that the description of the project, preferably with accompanying screenshots, made it possible for the reader to get a very good idea of what it was about, and what it looked like.
Although the book is arranged in order of student age, starting with All Ages and then from Primary to Adult, I believe that any project can be used at any age, with a bit of tweaking obviously.
Certainly, the challenges people faced, the concerns people had, and the contributors' recommendations are not differentiated by age group.
I hope you will find this resource useful. If nothing else, it will give you a good idea of how some of the applications we've looked at in an abstract sort of way have been put to use by real teachers, in real classrooms, with real kids.
Here is some more information about this free resource. It contains:
87 projects.
10 further resources.
52 applications.
The benefits of using Web 2.0 applications.
The challenges of using Web 2.0 applications.
How the folk who ran these projects handled the issues...
... And what they recommend you do if you run them.
Plus the impact on students and/or the learning outcomes?
Enjoy!
You can find out more about this free resource by going to the Free Stuff page on my website, from where you may download it.
Stop Press! At the time of writing this, the Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book has been downloaded by 7,171 people in the past 9 days.
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