There’s a lot of buzz today about podcasting and the value it brings to education. But what exactly is podcasting and what is its relevance in today’s classrooms?

Podcasting is an easy way to broadcast multimedia content online to a dispersed group of people, who are then able to listen whenever and wherever they choose using a variety of easily-accessible platforms. Podcasts can be downloaded automatically as soon as they are available and listened to using a variety of devices, including computers, MP3 players, PDAs, and even cell phones. What’s more, podcasts can be produced and broadcast inexpensively, and, as a result, have made this media channel accessible to the broadcasting masses. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you tired of the same old boring book reports or book reviews? Sure, educators try to make them more exciting with posters, diaramas, or other creative alternatives to the hand- or type-written version, but they’re still not very exciting. Why not try what these students did as an option to the regular ‘ol book report? Read the rest of this entry »

What is Web 2.0, really? Quite simply, it refers to a second generation of web communities and services that encourage communication and interaction between users. The term suggests that there was a Web 1.0 but the reality is Web 2.0 is more of a shift in the way people use the web, and not an update to any technical specification. Frequently referred to as the “read/write” Web (vs. “read-only” Web 1.0), Web 2.0 has also been described as the “participatory Web” in contrast to the “information Web” of Web 1.0. Read the rest of this entry »

According to WordPressforWomen.com, there are two ways to create a WordPress site - 1) You can either upload the free software from WordPress.org to your own domain ,or 2) you can create a free site on WordPress.com. You may not know what path to take for your school blog or site, but in the next few minutes we hope to make your choice clear. Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s kids are taking to the Internet like never before. Teens, pre-teens, and younger are blogging, bookmarking, IM-ing (instant messaging) their friends at a feverish pace. They’re personalizing their MySpace, Friendster, FaceBook and other favorite social networking space with photos, videos and personal information that helps them express their own special uniqueness. Plus, these services encourage and continue to provide more and more different ways for young people to communicate with one another. Although this can be a great way for kids to express their emotions, it also makes our children vulnerable to the online predators that frequent these sites. Read the rest of this entry »