Welcome to the Learning and Teaching with Web 2.0 Tools online workshop. I created this social network for use to use as as our "Classroom". The Moodle site where the online workshop is hosted is great, but you can't create any of your own content, which is the point of the Read/Write Web. I am new to Ning myself and my hope is that we can use this Ning site to create a learning community of educators that can stay connected after the workshop is completed.

Edtech leaders are educators who understand that to make real sustained meaningful changes in education, it takes more than having an interactive white board or a class blog. Developing a Personal Learning Network, PLN, is key to learning the best practices of Web 2.0 tools.

Some of you my have seen the videos I have posted here. If not take some time to view them, they are great discussion starters.

Please add any resources you think the group could use.

Other ning groups that you should look at are:

Classroom 2.0

Global Education Collaborative

Ning in Education

More ways for us to communicate:

Twitter - is a micro blog application. It is like popping into a colleague's classroom for a quick question or comment. There is a core group of edtech leaders twittering everyday about their lives and education. set up a twitter account and add follow me - teacherjim - and then I will add you to my group. This has become an important part of my PLN.

del.icio.us is a social bookmarking application. Instead of keeping your bookmarks to yourself on your computer you can share those treasured websites with your friends and the world. When your bookmarks are on the Internet you can always get to them anywhere/any place/ any time. My del.icio.us account is jwwalker620. Create yours and then add me to your network and we can share great resources.

BLOGS

The Moodle class only lists a couple of blogging platforms, just so you know there are other, some specifically designed for education:

David Warlick, a pioneer in EdTech has a blogging site that has the safety features many school districts want. Blogmeister

Blogger - one of Google's many tools a favorite for many bloggers. I see several teachers using Blogger for their personal blog and as a classroom blog.

Edublogs uses WordPress as a platform to offer free blogs to teachers and students. Hunderds of customizable themes and dozens of widgets makes Eudblogs a favorite.

Typepad - has been around for awhile and is popular with many bloggers. I don't know how education friendly it is.

Drupal - Equipped with a powerful blend of features, Drupal supports a variety of websites ranging from personal weblogs to large community-driven websites.It is a Content Management System that many school use to build website, blogs, and wikis.

Want to see what other educators are blogging? Support Blogging has dozens of links to educational blog and tips on how to create successful blogs and wikis.

RSS

The recommended RSS Reader in the Moodle course site is Bloglines. It is a popular reader and many people use it. I have a Bloglines account, but I have found Google Reader to be easier to use. You can get a Google Reader at this link.