Blogs,+Wikis+and+Nings

This wiki was created to share the maths and science tools and resources I have collected, since I started teaching in 2002. I have been using many web2.0 tools, including blogs, wikis and nings with my students at Hawkesdale P12 College and beyond. We are a 1:1 netbook school, which has allowed us to trial many digital teaching and learning tools over the past few years. Not all of them are suitable for science and maths learning and they should not take time away from valuable, practical, hands-on experiments and activities.


 * Blogs:** Blogs are like digital journals, in which the latest post is at the top of the page. I started blogging to save useful resources all in one place and share the work we were doing in class with parents, friends and other teachers around the world. Blogging was the start of a steep learning curve, when sometimes I wondered if the tools I was using were suitable for science and maths. Many years later, I have found this platform has improved my teaching and allowed students to improve their learning, by giving quick and easy access to suitable resources, allowing two-way feedback and establishing personal learning networks. Victorian government school teachers can create free blogs on the Ultranet, or at Global2. You can also use platforms such as Edublogs, Wordpress or Blogger.

The following are links to my blogs for specific subjects: Technoscience - Middle years Science. Technomaths - Middle years Maths. VCE Biology - Unit 1 and 2 Biology. VCE Environmental Science - Unit 3 and 4 Environmental Science Technoscience for Teachers - My original blog that started at Globalteacher, which included all the above subjects. Now used for professional writing and reflection, as well as links to new tools.

Hawkesdale Biology On-Line Science Fair Year 7 Hawkesdale
 * Wikis:** Wikis are free for educators and easy for students and teachers to construct - this platform is Wikispaces, but Wetpaint and PBWorks are others. They are useful for collaboration, because any number of people can edit and add to pages. My most popular wikis are at:

The Guide to Innovation Ning at http://guidetoinnovation.ning.com/ is an excellent site for teachers to find out about different opportunities for professional development, student webinars and groups for collegiate learning. This is where free Blackboard Colaborate sessions are advertised for students and teachers, especially for government and catholic schools in Victoria.
 * Nings:** Nings are sites that allow members to share blog posts, images, videos, ask questions and add comments. Ning used to be free, but now charges for different levels of service. One of the most useful nings for teachers is Classroom 2.0 where you can make connections with teachers from all over the world, find a speciality group, ask questions and read and comment on other people's posts.