Blogs and Wikis and File Sharing. Oh my! Increasing student and parent engagement through free web applications.

Do your computer labs look like this? But your students' computers...

look like this... And their parents' computers...

look like this... or like this... or like this... Then you need...

this... which is all about...

this...

Commonalities of these web apps... They're free They're universal across operating systems They're collaborative They're accessible 24/7 They improve parent/student/teacher communication. They're green

Using wikis... They are many good wiki programs available including PBWiki, WetPaint, and WikiSpaces. We use Wikispaces.

Let's build something together... *Today we're building a wiki about fun things to do in Maine. *Please join us at the address below http://ohchsmlti.wikispaces.com

Recapping the benefits of wikis... They're living documents. They create authentic audiences. They're collaborative tools. They accommodate multiple intelligences. They make operating systems irrelevant. They auto-save.

Blogging ... *Create authentic audience for student work. *Communicate with students and parents. *Continue classroom discussions outside of the classroom. *Create a central location for links and file sharing. *http://ohchsmlti.blogspot.com

File sharing and more... *Make assignments, notes, and announcements available online. *Collect paperless assignments without an email flood. *Create a voice message. *Try it at http://drop.io/ohchsmlti *Post notes, study guides, and assignments. *Create voice messages. *Collect paperless assignments without an email flood. *Embed into a blog or a wiki. *http://drop.io/ohchsmlti

Cloud Computing... Using web-based programs to do the same work proprietary software does. *Makes operating system choice irrelevant. *Enables collaboration. *Auto saves student work. *Sign-in to both with the same account.

Spice up a slide show... *Free and web-based. *Turn a slide show into a video. *Easily share work with family and friends worldwide. *Embed into social networking sites.

The end of slide shows... *Quick and Easy. *Select images, select music, Animoto does the rest. *Embed in blogs, wikis, and social networking websites.

Show and tell directions... *Free download. Works with Mac and PC. *Files hosted online. *A video's worth 10,000 words. *Students can find help 24/7.

Thank you for coming... Looking for more resources? Visit, Free Tech 4 Teachers.