Group items tagged

Uses of Social Bookmarking in School Library Media Centers Here are some ways school library media specialists are using social bookmarks: List web resources by class. Students go to the the bookmarking URL and click on the tag for their classCreate pages of links students need for creating a particular projectTeach about social bookmarking to students and teachersHelp students manage resources for projects and papersHelp teachers organize resources for units, projects and topicsOrganize favorites in different waysAccess bookmarks from home, school, classrooms, or anywhereLinking from library media center webpage to links for different disciplines, classes, teachers, projects, etc.Create RSS feeds of different tags for the school library media center webpage to keep it currentGuide students to most-relevant websites for assignmentsSharing great sites and articles with other library media specialistsSharing sites with teachers by tagging them with their names and/or subjectsStore and organize bookmarksCreate pathfindersCollect and share lesson plan ideasCollect and share new curriculum related websites when the curriculum is changingProvide quick bookmarks for specific teachers for specific research projectsCreate a page of research/report help sitesCreate bibliographies for student researchCheck out sites recommended by others with similar interestsContact others who have similar interests to collaborate on ideas, projects, papers, publications, presentationsAnnotate websites for students and teachersExport bookmarks for handouts or websites for students and teachers

Online tools and resources have made it easier for teachers to instruct students, and for students to collaborate with those teachers and with other students and parents. These “Web 2.0″ teaching tools aren’t magical, but they may seem to defy definition at times since they save time, help you to stay organized, and often take up little space on a computer. Some of these applications are Web-based, which means that they can be accessed from any computer.

tools that will make a teacher’s, or those enrolled in the best online education programs, life easier

Make it real

Provide choices

This study analyzed current uses of emerging Web 2.0 technologies in higher education with the intent to better understand which tools teachers are using in the classroom. A total of 189 faculty in higher education from three western US universities were invited to participate, with 54 completing the survey. The survey included open-ended questions as well to offer an alternative analysis approach. In this study, the respondents claimed that the intrinsic factors of a lack of time and training were the main barriers to use, and reported positive views of Web 2.0 use in class, with 75% saying that these tools would benefit students and 83% saying they would benefit teacher-student interactions. In contrast to these results only 44% of the respondents used at least 4 of the 13 listed Web 2.0 tools with students. The reported uses did not match with the reported benefits, and this would support the results that extrinsic factors (time, training, support), instead of intrinsic factors (beliefs, motivation, confidence) are the main barriers to faculty in this study using more Web 2.0 in education. The top five Web 2.0 tools used, in order of preference, follow: (a) video sharing with tools like YouTube; (b) instant messaging; (c) blogs; (d) social communities, such as Facebook; and (e) podcasts or video casts. This data was originally submitted to the Abraham S. Fischler School of Education in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education.