This book by Will has become very popular for K-12 education - but very readable for all

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Product Description

'We need a solid book explaining and illustrating and letting teachers know about these powerful tools. This book meets the need in an awesome way!' - Mike Muir, Director, Maine Center for Meaningful Engaged Learning

'This author is a gem! It startles me to be 'pulled' so happily through a text about these new Web tools in the context of good literacy instruction' - Gary Graves, Senior Research and Evaluation Advisor, Technology in Education, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

This book brings teachers a bold vision and on-the-ground Monday morning practicality. It will move educators to think differently about technology's potential for strengthening students' critical thinking, writing, reflection, and interactive learning. Will Richardson demystifies words like "blog," "wiki," and "aggregator" making classroom technology an easily accessible component of classroom research, writing, and learning.

This guide demonstrates how Web tools can generate exciting new learning formats, and explains how to apply these tools in the classroom to engage all students in a new world of synchronous information feeds and interactive learning. With detailed, simple explanations, definitions and how-tos, critical information on Internet safety, and helpful links, this exciting book opens an immense toolbox, with specific teaching applications for:

o Web logs, the most widely adopted tool of the read/write Web

o Wikis, a collaborative Webspace for sharing published content

o Rich Site Summary (RSS), feeding specific content into the classroom

o Aggregators, collecting content generated via the RSS feed

o Social bookmarking, archiving specific Web addresses

o Online photo galleries

This book makes it possible for anyone, no matter how inexperienced, to harness this amazing technology for the classroom today! (20051121)

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #425869 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 168 pages

Review
"This book deals with such a hot topic in a wonderfully practical way. We need a solid book explaining and illustrating and letting teachers know about these powerful tools. This book meets the need in an awesome way!" (Mike Muir, Director, Maine Center for Meaningful Engaged Learning 20051121)

"This author is a gem! It startles me to be 'pulled' so happily through a text about these new Web tools in the context of good literacy instruction." (Gary Graves, Senior Research and Evaluation Advisor, Technology in Education 20060322)

"Richardson shares first hand classroom experience of how the read / write web opens up new possibilities for students to learn from each other and from authors, scientists, and other professionals."

(EducationPR, wordpress.com 20060315)

"Whether it’s blogs, or wikis, or RSS, all roads now point to a Web where little is done in isolation . . . That’s not to say that in this new world students don’t do their own work. But it does mean that responsibility for that work is in some way shared. Learning is a continuous conversation among many participants."

(techLearning 20060426)

"Shows teachers how to integrate new Web tools into their instruction to both enhance their practice and foster student learning. Gives guidance on teaching students how to use the Internet responsibly."

(Education Week, April 26, 2006 20060705)

"This comprehensive guide on how to incorporate podcasts, screen-casting, blogs and other multimedia features into today's journalism brings convergence to the classroom." (Melanie Lo Communicator 20060601)

"Richardson understands digital tools and is able to translate that understanding to his readers. He writes about teens using the software in appropriate and innovative ways to illustrate what can and should be occurring in classrooms." (Teachers College Record, June 2006 20060726)

"Very user-friendly. Gives a step-by-step method through which students can maximize their learning strengths and transform into engaging, successful learners." (Magdalena M. C. Mok 20070401)

"An absolute must for anyone attempting to keep up-to-date with Web tools for the classroom. Preservice or practicing educators, teachers, administrators, parents, or interested parties can find all they want to know about the new tools of the Read/Write Web, including what they are, what they do, how teachers use them, and the first steps to take toward using them." (CHOICE, September 2006 20070911)

"Clearly and persuasively written, the book is loaded with information about the cutting-edge Internet features that make up so-called Web 2.0. Richardson meticulously makes connections between these tools and the classroom. He is comfortable writing about both the pedagogical implications of the technologies and also the directions for using them." (Los Angeles Times, 6 March 2007 20071012)

"This is the book to read if you are keen to use Web tools in your classroom but aren't quite sure where to start. Richardson's book makes clear not just how to integrate such tools in your classroom, but why you should and what difference it can make in your teaching." (New Zealand Studies of Applied Linguistics, July 2007 )

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Customer Reviews

The potential to transform learning
For once I got a feeling that the web might provide a killer application for education. I am a University lecturer with some experience of e-learning. So far we have not managed to make much of the potential of the internet but this book suggests ways it can have a serious impact.

Online teaching needs to be used to engage students in ways we have not achieved before and the use of the read/write web might at last make this possible.

I only gave it four stars because for me the pedagogy is not well grounded in theory but if you are looking for a practical way to take your teaching forward this is the book.

A good overview of web tools for educators
I bought this because I was starting to use blogs with some of my classes and I wanted some ideas and advice, because using a blog as a teaching and learning tool isn't the same as blogging for fun. The book certainly delivered on that - lots of simple practical information about how various tools are used by educators.

Will Richardson doesn't assume you are an expert and writes clearly about each topic, starting from a basic level and moving on from there, but he doesn't patronise the reader. I liked the fact that the examples came from schools, often with web links so I could explore some of the projects described if I wanted to. The author works in a school that serves a different age range to my own, but I have used and adapted a lot of the ideas to support my own classes.

The only disadvantage is that technology moves on very quickly, so I had one or two (very) minor teething problems when following some instructions. I think this is a problem that any book about web tools would face and the overall quality of both advice and instructions is excellent.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to teachers who regard themselves as beginners in using web tools with their classes, but it would also be useful to those with more experience who just want to pick up a few new ideas.

Blogs Wikis, Podcasts
As someone who is considering quitting the teaching profession, I found this book inspiration and wish that I had read it sooner. It has made me reassess my perspective on teaching/education. Richardson addresses the fundamental shifts that are taking place in education, pointing out that students no longer need to learn as much information as in the past, but they need to be able to manage information better, and they also need to be able to effectively work in collaboration with each other.