My name is Beth Ritter-Guth, and I
teach English, Communication, and Women's Studies at
Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, PA.
While I do a lot of trainings for K-12 educators on the
use of Web 2.0 tools, my work in virtual worlds is most
noted. I created Literature Alive! in Second Life; it is
a non-profit immersive literature program that brings
real life texts to 3D. The work of Literature Alive! has
been recognized by USA Today, the Chronicle of Higher
Education, AOL, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the BBC, and
Reuters.
Beth's Top 10 Tools
as at 2 January 2008
Wikispaces
- While there are a lot of
awesome wiki platforms available out there in the
sphere, I like the simplicity of wikispaces.
Students seem to be able to pick it up fairly
easily, and it has become the foundation to all my
classes (example: collegeenglish.wikispaces.com)
Google Docs
- I love the ability to connect students with
collaborative writing projects. Google Docs allows
the students to work together around their busy
schedules. I love that there are a variety of output
formats, as well, so accessibility is not an issue
Mixbook - This is a new tool for me, but answers
a long struggle I have had with students creating
engaging reading journals. The ability to add
pictures and to "shape" the text seems to motivate
students to write.
Google
Reader - I was (and still am at some level) a
huge fan of Bloglines, but Google Reader has
captured my heart. I love the way it allows me to
scan and read and share awesome posts! Students can
share their research with me in a split second; this
is the BEST feature!
SlideShare
- Slideshare is an excellent sharing tool. Students
can create a post their PPTs for class, and students
can comment on them. It is an excellent tool for
sharing ideas.
GCast - This is an awesome podcasting tool; I
love that students can call in their podcasts and it
posts right to the server. This is, by far, the
easiest podcasting software out there!
Jing - I love the idea that student can
automatically screen capture their work! While they
are limited to only five minutes, student can create
great presentations in little segments!
Skype - I
love free long distance. Skype has been an awesome
addition to the classroom and allows students to
meet with me or with each other at any time. What is
more exciting is that students can talk to their
international collaborators, as well!
Vyew
- Students can share their desktops with Vyew and
use a joint writeboard. This has been helpful when I
hold online office hours; I can meet with the
student at any time and review their work right in
front of their eyes!
Del.icio.us
- This is the easiest tagging program to use!
Students can share research with each other and with
me!
What are your
Top 10 tools for learning? Let us know and help to build the
Top 100 Tools for Learning 2008
