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= PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES = = =

//**Topic: Web 2.0 ** //

__SETTING THE STAGE: ([|please click here right now]) __

=__Welcome__ = Welcome to the second posting of our Professional Development Series (PDS) for the 2009-2010 academic year. The objective is to offer a new topic for our PDS each trimester. This year's topics were generated from the data collected through our professional development survey from last spring. The three items that the faculty wanted to explore the most included: //21st Century Teaching and Learning (inclusive of technology), Gender Differences (Peg Tyre follow-up), and Learning Through Our School Visits (to be our Professional Development Day in the spring).// The forum to retrieve and share information will be housed through the use of wikis. Since the use of wikis are included in a 21st century teaching model, we thought the first PDS should begin with exploring the educational uses of Web 2.0.  

=**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(255,125,0); font-size: 20px;">__Introduction__ **= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 120%;">This site will be devoted to building resources for the classroom and professional development use of Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies. Hopefully, it provides you with a good overview of the technologies, some ideas for lesson plans, and then points you in the direction of more detailed resources. This site is a <span style="line-height: 19px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;">**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 120%;">wiki ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 120%;">, which is a collaborative website where users can edit at a common place. That means that <span style="line-height: 19px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 120%;">you // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 120%;"> can edit and help to build the site. This wiki is intended for us to help each other integrate and use technology in the classroom in practical ways. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(255,125,0); font-size: 120%;">//Please view the technology links listed in the margin on the right side of this page.// **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(255,125,0); font-size: 120%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 120%;">Each page has a starting template that includes links to blogs, podcasts, other wikis, specific discussion pages, specific programs/websites, lesson plans, and other resources. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 120%;">Please help to fill them in! **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 120%;"> If you've never used a wiki before, don't stress--it's not that hard, and it's a great skill to learn right now. Please feel free to add or suggest additional technology pages as well. You can keep yourself informed by using the "notify me" tab at the top of each page. You can keep track of individual page edits, of individual discussions updates, or of the website as a whole--either by email or by RSS feed. To subscribe to all changes to the website, click on the "notify me" tab on any page. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">
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=**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; color: rgb(255,125,0); font-size: 20px;">__Web 2.0 Tutorial__ **= <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 120%;">The Internet is undergoing an extreme makeover. In the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century, the World Wide Web was primarily a place for viewers to retrieve information. The information flowed in a one-way direction. Websites were mostly built by "techie" folk who knew complex HTML coding and FTP site management.

Then around 2004 a birth of new web tools began to pop up. These tools allowed common people like us to add content to the web. People with no programming skills were suddenly publishing their own journals, photographs, videos, auctions, podcasts, wikis, slideshows and more. The web became a two-way street. Everyday people were now creating the content.

By 2007, a second generation of the web had taken over - Web 2.0. Also known as the Read/Write Web, the new web is a breeding ground for creative and engaging educational endeavors.

Teachers are using the new Web 2.0 tools to launch their classroom into the 21st century. Students are creating online content, collaborating with other students around the world and showcasing their work to a global audience. Web 2.0 facilitates professional networking. It provides authentic learning experiences for students, and it encourages global awareness, creativity, innovation, critical thinking and collaboration. The knowledge our students will gain from engaging with Web 2.0 technologies will foster the communication and information literacy skills that are required in the 21st century.

The great thing about Web 2.0 tools is they are easy to use. Really. And it's all free. Take some time to follow the links on the right side, and you will soon be merging onto the information superhighway.

=<span style="text-align: center; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Not sure where to start within this wiki? = <span style="line-height: 19px; display: block; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="text-align: center; line-height: 27px; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, fantasy; font-size: 18px;">**Click <span style="background-color: rgb(255,125,0); font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-decoration: none;">here to view YouTube clips that put all of this Web 2.0 speak into 'plain English.'**