Web 2.0 tools for a paperless classroom

 Click the link for the JogTheWeb Jog list...Web 2.0 tools for a paperless classroom

Recently, I was asked to share some tools for going paperless with a group of high school world language teachers, mixed languages.  Since we were using a room with desktop computers, I wanted to find similar tools to what I use every day on iPads, but in the pc/web version.  I wanted to focus on generic language tools, not content specific.  This is what I came up with...

Page One:
I started with a highlight from Google Docs.  I use it to create an answer sheet.  We complete an activity out of the textbook, for example, then I post the sentence prompts as a Google form.  This makes grading RIDICULOUSLY easy.  Every answer is the same in a column...it is glaringly obvious when there is a wrong answer.  From there it is easy to grade.

My feedback to students is decidedly low-tech. Either I meet with them individually (my preference, but difficult if class numbers are large), or I write on a scratch paper and hand it to them with the numbers of questions they got wrong.  I give them the option to resubmit.

Page Two:
I have created a Google form that students complete whenever they finish an assignment.  This is it.  It records their name and class period, the type of assignment, then a weblink to the final copy of their assignment.  Sometimes students complete work in their blog, upload to Dropbox or have handed it in on paper.  All they have to do is submit the form and I will have a list of student work links or the information about how to find it.  This has been a major time-saver for me.

Page Three:
Edmodo.  I still love thee, Edmodo.  Going beyond what Edmodo has done for my connections with students, it has done more for my connections with teachers.  Through Edmodo user groups, I've connected with thousands of teachers with ideas, links and activities!  The good folks at Edmodo really should be paying me...

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This is a link to the list of teacher created user groups.  Click the link for your desired group and request to join.  It is very easy!  Let the sharing begin!  I just got word today that there is a new Realidades 1 group.  Contact me for info!

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Zondle.  I've found Zondle through my work with Edmodo and I am looking forward to integrating this more.  It is a game platform for learning that has gotten some very good reviews.  I can tell you it is very easy to use!  I've only spent a small amount of time with it but I've had no trouble.  And the creators are on Edmodo and rapidly respond to any user issue!  I really like the new group-play feature currently in beta testing...it lets users join the game using the smart tool of their choice!

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Web Whiteboard.  I use Skitch so much as I'm explaining grammar concepts or for students who can take a picture of a document or download a document and then complete it.  For this presentation, I wanted web-based tools to do similar tasks.  Web Whiteboard is what I've come up with.  It does similar work but is based on a web platform, not an iPad app.

Page Seven:
Fake Text:  If you are an aficionado of Facebook, you've already seen the results of this web application.  Essentially, you can create a small dialogue between two people and make it look like an actual text message screen.  As long as you follow a certain format, and keep it short, you will be able to see a web shot of the "text" conversation, and then you can save a copy or share it!  It isn't good for longer conversations.

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An excellent visual storytelling tool....Storybird.  I must be upfront here, I haven't used this.  I ran across it one day and found a couple Spanish stories.  I also asked my colleagues on Edmodo (do we sense a theme???) if anyone there had used it and several teachers responded-with both middle and high school levels-that it was actually a really cool tool.  Students use preloaded images supplied by real artists to create a "book".  The user adds the text.  I've seen it used for students creating stories using Preterite/Imperfect and for Teachers creating user-manuals for students learning how to form the imperative...Lots of potential here!

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Pinterest.  Kind of like Tumblr, for those of you who know that...it is a collection of user-curated images which usually link to websites, tools, recipes or blogs.  You can also "follow" others with images you like.  I started it because I am very visual and like all the pretty pictures!  I continued using it when I found the wealth of information for teachers.  Now, I must say it has kind of backfired on me...I go on it for fun and all I see are the hundreds of pins from all the educators I follow!    Boards and links are all in the public domain, so anyone can follow anyone else, if you can find them.  Users have been recently allowed to create three "secret" boards which no one else can see.  I know of teachers who create pinboards for their lesson of the day, or a certain topic, like "el Día de los Muertos" for example.  You can find a link to my Pinterest boards in the Best Links section to the right of this post.

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Speechyproject.org is a great blog combining language-learning and technology tools.  I've gotten lots of good ideas from them.  They have lots of examples in French and German, too.

Page Eleven:
Quizlet.  This is one of my favorites.  It is a flashcards, self-quiz, and game platform.  It is very like Quia.com but has some big things in its favor:  you can keep track of what your kids are doing, it has great tools for free that other sites make you pay for, and it does not use Java, so kids can use it on the iPads!  Another plus is that there are so many users now that I almost never have to create a study set, I just do a search for the book, level and chapter and pick from a list of options.  Once you find one you like, copy it to your own account and it becomes yours.  You can make changes, edits, etc.  I create a class and send a link to all my kids in Edmodo...then when they join for free, they are automatically linked to my account.  I can access their account info and game history.  Since they are a member of my "class", I attach a flashcard set to their class and they all get a copy of it instantly.  Two drawbacks:  you can't see the individual score for students' work and you can add photos to the vocab words but only from Flikr images (you can use your own in the upgrade edition).  Usually, there are plenty of Flikr images to chose from but sometimes the tags are weird and the exact picture you want is a bit hard to find.  Minor inconvenience.

I've heard teachers talking about Quizdini.com on Edmodo and would like to try it as well.  I think it does similar things.

I hope you enjoy and are able to glean something to use from this list.  One of the participants at my presentation said he enjoyed the student turn-in form on Google Docs and  my "evangelical statements" about Edmodo.  *big smile*