By Lisa Gonzales and Devin Vodicka
Welcome to 2010 – and our top 10 Internet resources that are useful, free, and can help you network within education, save time, and remain current on research. Let 2010 be your year of the ideal work, life and technology balance.
Personal learning networks
Our first half of the top 10 all share a common theme – they fall into the “Personal Learning Network” (PLN) category. This is no accident. In addition to being yet another three-letter acronym, a PLN is essentially a customized, user-created set of connections that users design to meet their particular needs at a given point in time. They are intended to be fluid, dynamic networks that evolve based on changing conditions and emergent patterns of interactions between the users.
While each of the items in our list have some unique features – and many were not specially designed for an education setting – they all share the common features of connecting the user to others and to resources that can be used for learning purposes.
1. Twitter
It should come as no surprise that Twitter tops our list of the top 10 for 2010. Nielsen.com ranked Twitter as the fastest-growing site in its category, with growth of 1,382 percent in the short month of February 2009 (McCarthy, 2009). For those unfamiliar with tweeting, it should be clarified that Twitter is a site that aggregates messages of no more than 140 characters onto a user-created Web page. Other users can “follow” those updates. There are a variety of ways to configure settings for private or public posting.
Twitter was one of the first simple web applications to truly leverage mobile technology, as the design and settings were based on the framework of text messaging from cell phones. Even without Internet access, a user could text an update to his profile to share. Users can also set their cell phones to send them a text message when others post updates. In other words, the Web site was essentially a way to create groups for text message distribution.
As time has gone by, a number of features have been added to allow for re-posting, direct messaging, sending Twitter updates to other applications, conducting surveys, and just about anything you can imagine. We recommend that school leaders use Twitter so that they can begin to understand the shift that is afoot with mobile technology. Additionally, the way Twitter updates can feed into other applications presents a number of opportunities to improve communication and connectedness.
2. Facebook
Number two on our top 10 list is Facebook. Facebook is an online social networking site that allows users to connect with friends, join groups, and share resources within user-created networks with a variety of different permission levels for private or public posting. According to Alexa.com, Facebook is the second most popular Web site worldwide. Google is No. 1, but a typical user spends thrice the time on Facebook as on Google (Ostrow, 2009).
An astonishing one-quarter of Web surfers visit Facebook daily, and there are more than 300 million Facebook users who have joined the site since its inception in 2004 (Parr, 2009). To put that number in perspective, to draw 50 million users, it took 38 years for radio, 13 years for television, four years for the Internet, and a mere nine months for Facebook (Socialnomics09, 2009).
So why is Facebook so popular? In our opinion, it was the first user-friendly social network site that allowed users to post and share information that went only to their “friends” through a Web site that was easy to navigate and well designed.
So how should we be using Facebook? In terms of professional benefits, the best place to start may be the fan pages. TICAL, for example, now has a fan page devoted to posting information to assist school leaders. CUE also has a fan page that is used to post updates from its annual conference in Palm Springs and also distribute professional development opportunities. ACSA has a fan page that allows users to provide feedback on policy conversations and get updates on funding news. Each of these sites also allows opportunities to connect with colleagues that may have similar interests.
And then you have the personal connections – those with whom you regularly work, or those ACSA colleagues you see a few times a year at meetings. Facebook allows you to stay in touch with their personal lives – milestones, children, losses, good and bad days.
The power of relationships and staying connected with people is not only enticing, it fulfills a basic need for connection and mutual participation in one another's lives. Facebook provides that choice to participate with as much emotion or lack thereof as you would like, and to share with those you might not otherwise be comfortable with on your own terms.
3. Blogger
Blogger is number three on our top 10 list as a site to....blog. Blogger is the free resource offered through Google and, while there are a number of other popular (and free) blogging sites out there, this is our top pick due to the ease of use, flexibility, and integration with other online tools.
For those unfamiliar with blogs, the term is an abbreviation of a “Web log” that in the past may have been primarily used to post diary-style personal reflections. However, blogs have evolved to involve photos, videos, links, and just about any media resource. In addition, blogs are driven by RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feed that can be used to push and pull posts and content from one place to another.
We have found that the most successful use of blogs is to document events, aggregate resources for trainings, and help users know where to go to find information on a particular topic. In addition to posting content, users can comment on the posts, and blogs can facilitate online conversations that can assist with ongoing knowledge management for a group or organization. Many superintendents are jumping on the blogging bandwagon that has been well-received by their larger communities.
4. LearnCentral
LearnCentral is a newer, but extremely promising resource to catalyze ongoing improvements in education. It will also be the one main URL that is designed for administrators in the interactive technology world. LearnCentral is focused on connectivity, inspiring and global sharing for productivity and effectiveness. At a deeper level, it’s a call to action to help bring about positive change within the education community worldwide.
Ever wonder if there is a one-stop shop for administrative resources worldwide? This promises to be it. Close to 12,000 users have joined the site since it launched at the end of June 2009.
We expect this site to grow quickly in the near future. In addition to connecting with colleagues, there are user-generated resources, topic-specific forums, groups and online events. While we have seen a number of social networks for educators (such as Ning, Classroom 2.0, or earlier versions of Tapped In), this is perhaps the most refined and flexible one that has emerged to date and will soon have the easy-to-remember brand name Admin2.0.
5. Wiki
What in the world is a wiki and why does it round out our group of Personal Learning Networks? A wiki is a Web site that uses a specific type of software to collaboratively create Web page content, and our favorite is Wikispaces. Both user-friendly and secure, you can create a wikipage for your staff, PTA, curriculum team, or even for a group. Free wikipages are available for those of us in K-12 or the non-profit realm, and free Webinars (that’s a seminar streamed to you on your computer) are available to bring you up to speed on how to use and create them.
Classrooms are frequent users of wikispace pages, with applications that drive student learning, curriculum development, e-portfolios, peer evaluations, reviews of work, and even parental engagement. Private “wiki” labels are available if you want your entire district or large organization on a custom wikispace that was branded for everyone’s use, with prices starting at $100 a month. However, we are strongly suggesting the use of the free, K-12 non-profit wikispace design to meet the needs of small or large groups. The key word is still – free!
Collaboration tools
Tools to communication in live time and share information have become exceptionally popular in recent years. As school districts focus on becoming more “green” and time conscious, many leaders are realizing how certain software, Web sites and programs can benefit their workers and the broader community.
Some districts and even ACSA have started to use collaboration tools to launch professional development sessions and teleconferences that maximize engagement and minimize travel, off-the-school-site time, and substitute expenses. Collaboration tools are very successful in sharing information, connecting people, and making meetings more effective and productive.
6. YouTube
One of the most frequently used social networking sites, allowing ordinary computer users to post videos online, is YouTube. This resource has single-handedly transformed video sharing into a cultural norm, with approximately 144 million videos available for viewing. Video uploading and its uses in education are vast and tap into the creativity of students, teachers and educational leaders.
President Barack Obama famously used YouTube as an effective communication tool during his election campaign and the U.S. Department of Education is now continuing with that practice. As an example of how the resource is used, the U.S. Department of Education is currently asking students to upload videos about the importance of education (U.S. Department of Education, 2009).
In addition, YouTube now has launched youtube.com/edu, a service that streams videos of lectures from universities such as Stanford, Harvard and Cambridge. Once posted, a YouTube video can be shared through Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, and many other Web-publishing services. As smart-phones are now outfitted with video cameras, computers come with Webcams, and digital video cameras continue to be more accessible, we can definitely expect to see teachers and administrators finding more and more ways to share content and resources through online video in the near future.
7. TokBox
TokBox is a free video communication service that provides video calls and chats, instant messaging, video mail and video blogging. Because it is Web-based, it does not require downloads, so for all the novices out there, it means TokBox is really, really easy to use. After you login and create a profile, all you need is someone else’s e-mail address and you can begin to converse. You are also able to conference with many people simultaneously.
Video conferencing does mean you need a Webcam or the other person won’t be able to see you, and you do need a recent version of Adobe Flash. For those of you who are concerned about security, you can control who you see and who you cannot. TokBox is a little less slick with a bit longer delay than the pay-for-use Adobe Connect or Cisco's WebEx, but is free and user-friendly.
One valuable use of TokBox is in modeling for teachers the use of video conferencing to meet with students and discuss edits on work. Students can collaboratively work on reports, and can add on the additional layer of research by having open another window to find material on the Internet. Teachers can invite researchers “into” their classroom to talk with students through TokBox. For administrators, TokBox brings telementoring, regional/state/international collaboration, and even coaching to a new level.
8. Flickr
Few sites have had as much impact on digital photo sharing than Flickr, an online photo management and sharing application with almost 8 million users. While it certainly isn’t the only photo-sharing site, we list this as one of our top 10 for the ease of use and the interoperability. For an overview of the features, check out http://www.flickr.com/tour/.
We have used Flickr to upload photos through mobile devices and, once certain sharing options are activated, those photos can be posted automatically or with a mouse click to Twitter, Facebook, Blogger and others. While video is increasingly pervasive, there is a strong demand for still photos as well.
Within Flickr, one can find groups such as “Flickr for Education,” with examples of how teachers and administrators are using the site to promote student learning and enhance communication. As we continue to expand beyond the four walls of the classroom, the “Home Education and Home Schooling” group can also provide some inspiration for creative ways to use Flickr as a learning resource.
Professional productivity
While new technology programs can take some time to get accustomed to, they can be a real timesaver when used to work smarter and not harder. New programs are popping up on a regular basis that are designed to help save time. There are a ton of great sites, but we wanted to highlight a few that help you get something done and save time. Our final category of resources focuses on sites used to enhance and improve productivity.
9. Doodle
One of the hot new and diverse productivity tools used to schedule meetings or take polls is Doodle, which eliminates the need for ongoing e-mails and phone calls. One of the advantages of this program is the flexibility it provides respondents. For example, a pre-Doodle approach to schedule a meeting might be to send out an e-mail to four people to ask them to respond with their availability for a meeting, or even worse – task your staff to call others on the phone. Doodle sends out an e-mail with possible meeting times and invitees check boxes for instant cumulative feedback. Doodle will simplify your life.
10. Two goals
Two Goals (twogoalsapp.appspot.com) allows you to focus your goals or projects at any given time to only two items. The essence of the site is simple – set two goals, accomplish them, and repeat. A prompt guides you to enter each goal into its own box and the two boxes remain visible as an open window on your computer. When you finish the goal, you can delete it and add another.
Two Goals is not that much different than teachers identifying goals for their lessons with students or setting outcomes for staff meetings. Brian Tracy, in his book “Goals,” shares that the most powerful way to achieve your goals is to write them down, which only 3 percent of people do on a regular basis. Motivational speaker Zig Zigler adds that those 3 percent also tend to be in the top tiers of business and personal success.
Here is a site that can help you simplistically focus your goals or tasks every day.
The runners up
Identifying only 10 sites was a challenge, as many more met our criteria of ease of use, contribution to productivity, and usefulness in education. Some of the also-rans included Skype (free phone calls over the Internet), Delicious (social bookmarking service), Diigo (Web highlighting, sticky notes and bookmarking), TinyChat (free disposable chat rooms with live video and audio), and Wordles (word clouds).
Another thought to consider with these sites is that they have immediate value to school leaders and educators, but only if they are accessible. When sites are blocked, the ability to improve productivity and intertwine the use of technology is significantly reduced. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Deal with the issue of improper technology use when it arises with a clear and articulated process and avoid blocking sites that do add value to instruction, learning and productivity.
References
McCarthy, Caroline. (2009). Nielsen: Twitter’s Growing Really Really Really Fast. Retrieved Oct. 9, 2009 from Cnet.com: news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10200161-36.html.
Ostrow, Adam. (2009). People Spend 3x More Time on Facebook than Google. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2009, from Mashable.com: mashable.com/2009/09/17/facebook-google-time-spent.
Parr, Ben. (2009). Facebook Now Has Over 300 Million Users. Retrieved Oct. 1, 2009, from Mashable.com: mashable.com/2009/09/15/facebook-300-million.
Socialnomics09. (2009). Social Media Revolution. Retrieved Oct. 2, 2009, from YouTube.com: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8&feature=player_embedded#.
Tracy, Brian. (2003). Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
U.S. Department of Education. (2009). I Am What I Learn. Available from YouTube. Retrieved Oct. 9, 2009, from YouTube.com: www.youtube.com/user/usedgov.
Zigler, Zig. (2002). Goals: Setting and Achieving Them On Schedule. Niles, IL: Nightingale Conant.
Recommended links
1. www.portical.org/Presentations/quick_takes/#twitter
2. mashable.com/2009/07/20/twitter-new-users.
3. www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=110517
4. www.blogger.com/profile/10652189246209103362 (examples of school-related blogs created on Blogger)
5. blog.edstimulus.org/ (Another educational blog created on blogger)
Lisa Gonzales is the VAPA coordinator at the Santa Clara County Office of Education. Devin Vodicka is the director of curriculum and instruction in the Carlsbad Unified School District. Both are members of ACSA’s Technology Leadership Group and are TICAL Leadership Cadre.