School districts are understandably careful about allowing students to network with one another on the internet. But the web is a great resource for connecting teachers to one another’s ideas, and to share students work and perspective. With careful monitoring, it can be a safe and rewarding experience.
Tapped In http://tappedin.org is a great place for teachers to network with each other, and to involve students. Teachers take responsibility for their students online through the site, and agree to monitor their accounts and adhere to standards set on the site. With ongoing funding from The National Science Foundation and Sun Microsystems, the site exists to connect teachers across the world to plan and discuss activities with students, mentor other teachers, participate in online courses, and participate in discussions. Through sites such as this one, students can network with other students across the globe, but in a safe, monitored environment.
Teachers will also find that there are wonderful collaborative online communities which do more than just share activities and lesson plans. Trackstar4teachers http://trackstar.4teachers.org is an innovative online community which enables teachers to post lesson plans, ideas, and links to websites around the world relating to curriculum ideas. If you need a jumpstart to planning curriculum, this is a wonderful place for inspiration and ideas.
Advanced Learning Technologies at University of Kansas (ALTEC) has created tools for teachers and students to design and evaluate the level of their work. One of their tools can be found at http://rubistar.4teachers.org. This tool enables teachers to create rubrics, by which an activity is planned based on specific competencies with standards to measure. By using such a tool, teachers can be free to design the activity. The measurement of learning and results are built in.
There’s a great world out there. Get wired, and get inspired!