According to the Pew Research Center, nearly three quarters (73%) of online teens and an equal number (72%) of young adults use social network sites. By contrast, older adults have not kept pace; some 40% of adults 30 and older use the social sites in the fall of 2009. A vast majority use Facebook as their social media outlet. What if we could harness the appeal of Social Media and utilize it in our classrooms?
Delicious - T, S Store, share, and discover web bookmarks and access them anywhere!
Diigo - T, S Bookmark and tag webpages. Highlight and add sticky notes as well.
Edmodo - T, S A free educational social network. Like Facebook for school. Great to use with your students.
Twitter - T If you have not heard of Twitter, you are living under a rock. Great for professional development. Click here for a quick intro to Twitter.
Here are some of the Educational Technology people I follow on Twitter
Wikispaces - A fairly good wiki site.
PBWorks - Better than Wikispaces. Very user friendly. It's what you are looking at right now! Check out the PBWorks Educator Community Site for ideas on how to use a wiki in your classroom.
50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom
Wikis We All Know
Classroom Wiki Examples: Mr. Boyers 5th Grade Class, Miller's English 10 Resource Wiki, and Mrs. Shanahan's Wiki
Blogger - The most widely used blogging service. Tons of features.
Wordpress - Another very widely used blogging service.
Edublogs - Lets you easily create & manage teacher blogs, quickly customize designs, and include videos, photos & podcasts. Great for communicating with parents and students.
Kidblog - Have your students create their own blogs. Use them in place of journals or other writing activities. Kids love to write online when they know they will have an audience. You can also embed any glogs, vokis, prezis, or videos your students create
Blog Examples: Miller's English 10 Classroom Blog, Gladly Would I Teach, Mr. Cappello's Online Classroom, Mrs. Gay's Science Wiki, and Your English Class