Mr Reid’s Edublogs sandpit

At the bottom right of the sidebar you can see a ClustrMap - kids love to know who is viewing their hard work and endless discussions could arise from math, patterns, geography to time and space. Edublogs integrates the free website analysis tool called Google Analytics.

Below is a screenshot made with the fantabulos Skitch of just some of the graphical feedback the service provides:

TokBox is a flash and browser based video chat tool that can be embedded in your website for free. To get started, the teacher needs to register, although users you want to video chat with don’t have to be registered. No other downloading is necessary. As more notebooks come with inbuilt webcams these flash based video chat engines will be come more commonly used. I highly recommend these amazing notebooks that have had in-built webcams for a couple of years

Wouldn’t this be great for students in different schools talking to each other about an open-ended learning task posted in the blog? Or for inviting an ‘expert’ to talk about the textual content of a post. I like how this tool promises to facilitate live communication but in the context of the content of a blog post. If you see me online, want to discuss this tool’s possibilities - feel free to initiate a video chat.

Adding video from flash based websites can be a useful way for teachers of keeping the content and focus on the page in which it is embedded. Edublogs supports many URLs that can quickly added to provide interesting starting points for discussion in the blogs comments.

Via this wiki:

The video above was designed to show teachers how to connect their classrooms to the world of information. Visit http://theconnectedclassroom.wikispaces.com/ to participate in the conversation or add your ideas.

The director of Edublogs James Farmer details the process behind adding a web video to a post in the 3rd minute of this screencast.

Using Meebo I’m experimenting with the possibility of deploying a chat room within a blog post. I’ve set one up on a separate page here as an anywhere/anytime access tool. The permalink is at the top of the banner menu.

The pedagogical uses of this tool is immediately apparent. I’ve used them in workshops for teachers to brainstorm and share ideas quickly. These work well when used together with a strategic open-ended question and added to a mindmap via Inspiration rapid-fire for example.

I’ve used them in workshops for teachers to brainstorm and share ideas quickly. These work well when used together with a strategic open-ended question and added to a mindmap via Inspiration rapid-fire for example.

Just tested out JibJab - 5 minutes to create a fun clip. Good for a quick laugh.