Virtual conversation

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Permalink Reply by Christine Albert on March 2, 2011 at 5:07pm

Would a Voice Thread work for you?

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Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on March 2, 2011 at 5:26pm

What about Edmodo? It's sort of like a closed Facebook just for your class.

 

Katy Scott

Stretch Your Digital Dollar

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Culverhouse on March 3, 2011 at 4:21pm

I looked into Edmodo because I have never heard of it before. This looks like a nice tool for students and teachers to use in the classroom. I like that it is a secure site and that it was specifically made for school. This tool makes it safe for our kids. I love that it is used all around the world. Are other classes from other countries able to do discussions or is just for the one the class?

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Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on March 3, 2011 at 6:43pm

You can add different classes into Edmodo and give kids varying levels of access.

 

For example, you could have "Class 1," where all the kids in your class discuss among themselves. Then you could have "Class 2," where all the kids in your partner class discuss among themselves. Then, you could have "Collaborative Class," where all the kids in both classes can discuss together.

 

On every user's home page, they can filter for different classes under the "Groups" section with a single click -- so kids in Class 1 can choose whether they want to see just Class 1 discussion, just Collaboration Class discussion, or everything from both discussions. When kids write a message, they can choose whether to post it just to Class 1, just to Collaboration Class, or to everyone.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Stange on March 2, 2011 at 6:58pm

TypeWithMe is also a useful conversation tool. I started an example: http://typewith.me/LOe99oOp9k

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Culverhouse on March 3, 2011 at 4:26pm

I really like the user friendly idea of TypeWithMe. I do have a concern that this might not be the best thing for a class though, or at least for young students. Since the site is a public domain and not secure anyone can make comments on the page that the discussion is being done on. Maybe I am wrong. Is there a way to only make it so that only certain people comment on the page?

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Permalink Reply by Heidi Siwak on March 2, 2011 at 7:27pm

I love collaborize, http://wecollaborize.com/classroom.html. It is super easy to use and allows voting as well as discussion.

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Culverhouse on March 3, 2011 at 4:32pm

What a great website! I love that you can incorporate multiple things in this site. Not only can you have discussions, but you can add video, resources, and assignments. It is like a mini class, but online. This must make your life so much easier as a busy teacher. Could you give me an example of what you wold use the voting portion for? (I am preservice teacher and I am trying to learn as much as possible).

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Permalink Reply by Heidi Siwak on March 3, 2011 at 5:14pm

Hi Ashley, Collaborize is awesome. Visit Catlin Tucker.  She got me started on Collaborize and is about to publish a book on how using it affected her teaching practice. 

http://catlintucker.com/

I've been blogging about Collaborize on my blog.  The first post about it is this:

http://heidisiwak.blogspot.com/2011/02/social-media-is-game-changer... 

On the Collaborize site are suggested activities and ideas for discussions.  If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Heidi

 

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Permalink Reply by Pamela Jackson on March 6, 2011 at 5:31pm

You may try Todays Meet if you have a limited number of discussions. Its a nice backchannel. Typically, I create a room with a 2-hr window. If using at school, I put link in our shared network drive; If outside of school I set an agreed time, ex. 6-7pm; So students don't post later I open the window early to cut off once we're done; then I copy the transcript. There is no access to the room after it closes.

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