Classroom 2.0

Classroom 2.0 (http://www.classroom20.com)

I found a good web site for teachers.

Classroom2.0 is a website for on-line social networking. This site is for people who are interested in Web2.0, collaborative study on the web, and technologies in education.
All members can open a discussion forum and talk about a topic with other members. I looked up a forum named “10 Things Every Teacher Should Know About Technology” in the section “Help or Feedback Needed”. Members have actively shared their opinions about technologies in education and agreed or disagreed with other opinions. It looked not only useful but also fun.

There are some small interest groups. I joined two groups as a member, “Developing Digital Skills @ School” and “E-Learning and Online Teaching”. In these groups, the members share information and discuss their topics in forums. Also, the members can send e-mail to all group members.

Classroom2.0 holds "LIVE Conversations" on a daily basis. An expert teaches participants with slides, and participants can see the presenter through a live video camera by WiZiQ software. Also, they can talk to and ask the presenter questions or text other participants via a chat room during the presentation. The topics of these conversations are not only about technologies for teachers but also teaching methods; for example, “Getting ready for real software world”, “Getting started with SAT preparation”, and “Tips for online teaching and learning on WiZiQ”. Each LIVE conversation has a fixed time but members can see the recorded videos and the conversation in a chat room whenever they want.

I joined in a live event, “Advanced Web Search Training for HR, Recruitment and Staffing Professionals”, presented by Bernd Kestler on Friday, October 24, 8:00 to 9:00 AM. In this LIVE conversation, participants introduced themselves, watched the lecture, and questioned and answered each other. Sometimes the presenter wrote and drew on the slide to help the participants understand the topic. It was very interesting. Also, I watched a recorded event titled “Web 2.0 Technologies for Teaching and Learning: Using Wiki"by Ludmila Smirnova who is an associate professor at the New York Institute of Technology. These events were very useful to me. Teachers who do not know about technological tools or software can easily learn to use these tools. Even if they do not understand the presentation, they can ask the presenter or other participants in the chat room.

Additionally, there are more ways to communicate with members and to help teachers learn such as posting blogs and videos. Moreover, there are many resource lists and links for technologies in the classroom so teachers can learn and apply them in their own classroom. This is an example (http://wiki.classroom20.com/Blogging). I recommend to educators Classroom 2.0.