Posted by David R. Wetzel, Ph.D.
Online Organization Tool
LiveBinders is a free web 2.0 tool which offers educators the ability to save and organize materials for any class. One advantage of this online service the capability to update a binder anywhere an educator has internet access.
This benefit offers teachers a convenient online location for their students find information during and after school. Examples include: resources placed in a binder help students complete homework assignments, complete research, review project rubrics, listen podcasts, and student homework submission.
Another advantage of LiveBinders for teachers is the update features designed in each binder. The design offers educators the ability to rapidly update information in any lesson, unit, or project as new information or procedures become available. Also, there are no design or layout issues to contend with because everything uploaded to the binder is organized in tabs and sub-tabs.
The tabs and sub-tab, similar to pages in a book, organize information and resources for ease of students access. Labeling these tabs and sub-tabs is straight forward process.
Additional design features allow teachers to upload resources in the form of PDFs, images, presentations, videos, podcasts, documents, and more to a binder. Also, if links are desired to online resources, all that is needed is to create a special tab for these links.
Strategies for Using this Online Tool in Any Class
The following are strategies for how to use LiveBinders to support teaching and learning in science and math education.
Student Assignments/Projects
This is a collection of assignments and projects for students to complete as the year progresses. All information students need to complete their work is provided such as rubrics, web based resources, and assignment or project requirements.
One example is creating a LiveBinder for a specific assignment or project for students to upload their finished work. This design feature allows students to present their work in class.
Lessons/Units This free online tool provides an excellent method for saving online materials such as websites, images, interactive sources, and documents related to a specific lesson or unit. Examples include:
- Units which involve two or more subject areas, such as a Thematic Unit on data collection and analysis of geometric shapes in nature.
- A collection of mobile learning Apps for the iPod Touch, Smart Phones, or iPad related to the lesson or unit for student use.
- A collection of project- or problem-based learning activities.
Student Resources These are resources students can use throughout the year or for specific periods of time such as a study guide for a test or final. Examples of these resources include:
- Guides for using online tools such as Google Search, Google Docs, Skype, Wordle, Glogster, online calculator, and digital storytelling.
- Guides for using digital devices such as an iPod Touch, iPad, Kindle, probeware, flip camera, and digital camera.
- Science and math interactive manipulatives, games, and other online resources to help reinforce concepts taught in class.
- Study guides for writing math equations, algebra, rainforests, balancing chemical equations, bibliography procedures,and more.
- Links to online interactive games and other web based resources.
General Benefits and Advantages of LiveBinders The following is a summary of the benefits and advantages of using LiveBinders to support teaching, learning, and professional development.
- Material and resources are up loadable from any computer, anytime, and anywhere with internet access.
- Educators can use a class blog or wiki to provide students’ access to a binder.
- Total storage per account is 100 MB, providing the opportunity to create multiple binders.
- A bookmark tool is available a browser’s toolbar to quickly upload new resources to a binder.
- A binder is invaluable for creating a library of resources for students and educators to use.
These strategies, techniques, and tips provide just a sample of the many ways LiveBinders support teaching and student learning. The use of this web 2.0 tool replaces a physical notebook or binder for educators. In support of the value this online tool provides – the American Association of School Librarians has selected LiveBinders as one of their Top 25 Best Websites for teaching and learning in July of 2010. 
Posted by David R. Wetzel, Ph.D.
Twitter
The value of Twitter for helping you and your colleagues stay informed of the latest trends, ideas, resources, and Web 2.0 integration tools has increased tremendously in the past year.
A Web 2.0 tool is available for exploiting the every growing information on Twitter to remove barriers and allow you to collaborate with other science and math teachers. This new online tool is paper.li – a source of daily Twitter newsletters in education.
This web site offers hundreds of newsletters which provide a summary of ideas, tips, and resources other educators are tweeting about in the previous 24 hours. The daily newsletters are based on hash tags educators to organize their information in categories for you and other teachers.
Web 2.0 Daily Newsletters
The following are a selection of paper.li daily newsletters which are of prime interest for science and math teachers of all levels.
- edtech Daily – provides a summary and links to articles and blog posts which concern the integration of technology in teaching and learning. This newspaper also provides a summary of posts under the #edchat hash tag in which teachers discuss issues, share tips, and resources regarding technology integration.
- elemchat Daily – a summary and links to article and blog posts concerning issues, tips, ideas, and resources for elementary teachers.
- mathchat Daily – a summary of discussions, articles, and blog posts regarding teaching and learning math.
- scichat Daily – a summary of discussions, articles, and blog posts regarding teaching and learning science.
- teachingscienceandmath – summary of tips, resources, discussions, and blog posts regarding teaching and learning science and math, along with technology integration.
- education Daily – provides a summary and links to articles and blog posts concerning current education trends and issues.
- edtech Daily – provides a summary and links to articles and blog posts which concern the integration of technology in teaching and learning. This newspaper also provides a summary of posts under the #edchat hash tag in which teachers discuss issues, share tips, and resources regarding technology integration.
Each daily newspaper provides an “alert me” button which allows you to enter your e-mail address to receive an a message informing you the newspaper was just updated with the latest news, stories, blogs, and discussions related to its topic in the last 24 hours.
These daily Twitter newsletters are ideal for every teacher who wants to take advantage of this powerful Web 2.0 tool and do not have the time to scan through all the tweets of the people you are following.
Posted by David R. Wetzel, Ph.D.
Wikis are the most popular Web 2.0 tool being used in science and math classrooms. Based on a survey of readers – 45 percent use them to support their teaching and student learning.
A Wiki is appealing, encourages participation, supports collaboration, and promotes interaction by students who love to use technology.
By the way – this includes most students today!
The following are a collection of ideas and strategies for using Wikis in your classroom!
Both Science and Math Classrooms
Specific pages within a Wiki may include:
Study Guides – these are created by you or assigned to groups of students. Examples include study guides for chapters, units, or semester exams.
Podcasts – like everything dealing with education technology in the classroom there are always tips and tricks to ensure success – this includes Podcasting!
WebQuests – an inquiry-oriented online lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web.
Projects – both a collection of resources for students and an online tool for facilitating completion of project based learning activities. This includes teacher created and online project resources such as the National Math Trail and Global Water Sampling Project.
Tips for Students – this includes are variety of ways for helping students, such as tips for:
- creating and uploading a podcast.
- using and uploading Google Docs.
- using WallWisher.
- uploading images.
- creating links to pages within the Wiki or external resources on the web.
- frequently asked questions regarding classroom and homework procedures.
Careers – a selection of teacher or student interviews of people currently employed in careers related to science or math. This may include written statements from professionals who are given the same set of questions to answer, along with online links to career resources.
Math Classrooms
Specific pages within a Math Wiki may include:
Calculus – a collection of problem solving exercises for students to collaboration in solving.
Algebra – a collection of problems for students practice such as inequalities, linear equations, quadratic formula, or graphing.
Graphing Calculator – tips and tricks for using graphing calculators. Also may include a links to an online graphing calculator.
Real World Math – a page for students to write about and/or provide examples of places where they actually used math outside the classroom.
Class Notes – a collection of step-by-step procedures used in class to solve math problems such as multiplying fractions, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, or calculus.
Science Classrooms
Specific pages within a Science Wiki may include:
Glossary – a collection of scientific terms with illustrations and definitions added by students using Flickr and other non-copyright resources. This may also include online links to detailed information.
Taxonomy – classification of a variety of organisms by kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.
Experimental Design – procedures and steps for following the experimental design process such as defining independent variable, dependent variable, control variables, or developing experimental questions.
Discrepant Events – sample videos or procedures for students to follow when completing discrepant events, which allow students to witness scientific events with unexpected outcomes.
Field Observations – sample procedures for collecting water data at local streams, weather observation data, wildlife observation data, or collecting plant data.
Concept Descriptions – a written or pictorial description of scientific processes such as earthquakes, water cycle, friction, pollination, ozone depletion, light, rock cycle, physical and chemical properties, force, and photosynthesis.
Chemistry Equations – procedures and practice for learning how to balance chemical equations. This may also provide links to web resources for student help.
Physics – a list of formulas and equations, along with step by step-by-step procedures for solving. This may also provide links to web resources for student help.
The time is right as you close out this school year and have the summer to build a dynamic Wiki in preparation for next year or make changes to your current class Wiki to include these and other ideas. Your students will benefit from the integration of this Web 2.0 tool in your classroom, as they develop a greater understanding of math or science.
Additional Resources
Using Wikis in Math Class
Using Wikis in Science Class
