Harnassing the Power of Web 2.0

The video and/or PowerPoint of Did You Know? has swept the Internet for several years now. Scott McLeod, Karl Fisch, Laura Bestler, XPLANE, and The Economist have just released an updated version called Did You Know? 4.0. Check it out at Scott McLeod's blog. You'll learn some amazing things. For example, in the past two months, more video was uploaded to YouTube than all of the original programming aired by the three major networks since 1948. The average American teen sends 2,272 text messages a month.

Despite all of this, in most schools we are still trying to teach without utilizing the power of web 2.0 tools. In defense of educators, many do not know what these tools are or how they might effectively be used to support instruction.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education (SDE) hopes to help remedy this problem this fall by offering Web 2.0 professional development. This training is designed to mostly be done online at the time and pace appropriate for each individual. Two of the sessions, one on blogging and copyright, and one on podcasting, will be offered as on-site training at the SDE. The first session will be offered September 24 and October 15. Podcasting will be offered October 8 and 22.

To register, simply go to the Oklahoma State Department of Education website . There is a calendar on the bottom right corner of the page. If you click on the date, the activities for that day will appear below the calendar. Click on the session and a popup window will give you a description along with a link for registration. Come learn how to harness the power of Web 2.0 for your classroom.