Technology for Connecting Students
There are several options for connecting students, and some of these options can be combined for more multi-faceted interaction.
1. Email. Many partnerships run largely through email, with partners mailing back and forth. High school students can create free email accounts through Gmail if they do not already have one. It is very important that teachers track emails sent, because in the past some partnerships have faded out when one party failed to return a message. Teachers can have students carbon copy (CC) on all emails, though this will clog up the instructor's inbox. One option is for instructors to create a separate email address to track messages, or to create a filter so Wildcat Writers mail is automatically placed in a special folder.
2. Blogs. If teachers do not want to pair students individually, they may consider having a class blog where students interact. Or, students can create their own blogs and comment on the blogs of their partners. Blogger is a wonderful and user-friendly tool for setting up blogs.
Wordpress is another blog site that has been used by by Wildcat Writers teachers in the past. For example, Ashley Holmes guided her students in creating blogs, and then her students' partners (each of her students had two or three partners) created a username and commented on the blogs. Ashley's handouts on how to create a username and how to comment might be useful for teachers considering Wordpress. We don't have a handout on how to create a blog, as she talked her students through this process live, but this is easy to figure out if you visit the Wordpress site.
3. Nings. Nings are a kind of free website designed especially for groups. Your Ning can include discussion boards, blogs for every member, photos and videos uploaded from any member, posts, and RSS feeds. It also allows you to moderate your chat and discussion boards. Desert View High School teacher Taylor Johnson and UA teacher Faith Kurtyka shared a Ning, and Taylor has provided a handout on its theory and utility.
4. Google Wave. Though still in limited preview now, this program will make commenting and collaboration between students a snap. It allows students to work on the same document, insert comments, and chat in real time, and includes a "playback" feature that allows you to watch the evolution of a document.
5. VoiceThread. This is a program that allows people to upload images, and then comment on those images while writing directly on the image. Others can add their own comments, too. There are five ways to comment: recording thoughts on a computer microphone, calling a special phone number which uploads comments to the thread (though only a limited amount of these can be done for free), recording yourself on a webcam, typing text, or uploading an audio file. Others can watch/listen to your comments and add their own. This might be a useful tool for teaching visual rhetoric, or allowing students to express their thoughts out loud. You can watch an experiment with Voicethread that shows the program in action and explains how to use it.
6. Glogster. This program allows students to create interactive collages with text, audio, video, and images. This program is especially useful if you're planning a unit on visual arguments or zines. Glogs ter also integrates with VoiceThread.
7.. Geograffiti. Perfect for projects that focus on place, Geograffiti allows people to attach a short voice recording to a particular place on a google map. Users can listen to these "voicemarks" and respond to them. No computer microphone needed-- everything is done through a cell phone. This system works especially well if you are encouraging students to write about place.
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1. Email. Many partnerships run largely through email, with partners mailing back and forth. High school students can create free email accounts through Gmail if they do not already have one. It is very important that teachers track emails sent, because in the past some partnerships have faded out when one party failed to return a message. Teachers can have students carbon copy (CC) on all emails, though this will clog up the instructor's inbox. One option is for instructors to create a separate email address to track messages, or to create a filter so Wildcat Writers mail is automatically placed in a special folder.
2. Blogs. If teachers do not want to pair students individually, they may consider having a class blog where students interact. Or, students can create their own blogs and comment on the blogs of their partners. Blogger is a wonderful and user-friendly tool for setting up blogs.
Wordpress is another blog site that has been used by by Wildcat Writers teachers in the past. For example, Ashley Holmes guided her students in creating blogs, and then her students' partners (each of her students had two or three partners) created a username and commented on the blogs. Ashley's handouts on how to create a username and how to comment might be useful for teachers considering Wordpress. We don't have a handout on how to create a blog, as she talked her students through this process live, but this is easy to figure out if you visit the Wordpress site.
3. Nings. Nings are a kind of free website designed especially for groups. Your Ning can include discussion boards, blogs for every member, photos and videos uploaded from any member, posts, and RSS feeds. It also allows you to moderate your chat and discussion boards. Desert View High School teacher Taylor Johnson and UA teacher Faith Kurtyka shared a Ning, and Taylor has provided a handout on its theory and utility.
4. Google Wave. Though still in limited preview now, this program will make commenting and collaboration between students a snap. It allows students to work on the same document, insert comments, and chat in real time, and includes a "playback" feature that allows you to watch the evolution of a document.
5. VoiceThread. This is a program that allows people to upload images, and then comment on those images while writing directly on the image. Others can add their own comments, too. There are five ways to comment: recording thoughts on a computer microphone, calling a special phone number which uploads comments to the thread (though only a limited amount of these can be done for free), recording yourself on a webcam, typing text, or uploading an audio file. Others can watch/listen to your comments and add their own. This might be a useful tool for teaching visual rhetoric, or allowing students to express their thoughts out loud. You can watch an experiment with Voicethread that shows the program in action and explains how to use it.
6. Glogster. This program allows students to create interactive collages with text, audio, video, and images. This program is especially useful if you're planning a unit on visual arguments or zines. Glogs ter also integrates with VoiceThread.
7.. Geograffiti. Perfect for projects that focus on place, Geograffiti allows people to attach a short voice recording to a particular place on a google map. Users can listen to these "voicemarks" and respond to them. No computer microphone needed-- everything is done through a cell phone. This system works especially well if you are encouraging students to write about place.
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