Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Classroom 2.0 with 75 Articles from Innovative Educators

This innovative project has produced a wealth of material from educators and technologists, packed with experienced and informed insights about using technology in the educational setting.

Classroom 2.0 was started in 2007 by Steve Hargadon, and it has been the premier social network for educators and technologist who are interested in leveraging “Web 2.0” tools in the pursuit of discovering ways in which technology can impact learning. The site now has over 70,000 members worldwide, and offers a wide variety of discussion forums (grouped by “Tool”, “Subject”, and “Area”) along with events, recordings, and other resources. If you are not a member, I highly recommend completing the simple registration process, checking out these resources, and participating in the dialogue (or start one of your own!).

Earlier this year, Steve got together with Richard Byrne (FreeTech4Teachers) and Christopher Dawson (ZDNet Education) and initiated a project with the objective of producing a collaboratively developed book to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Classroom 2.0. They invited writers to submit chapters about education and instructional technology topics, with the intention of publishing all submissions in a forum where they could be accessed by the general public for review. All of the chapter submissions are now available (for free) on Scribd.com, here: http://www.scribd.com/Classroom20Book.

The final selection of chapters for publication in the book will be influenced by their popularity (i.e. most reads/downloads), as well as other factors. I do not know if the original articles will remain available on Scribd after the book is published, but would assume not, so now is a good time to take advantage of their availability, while also helping to influence which of them will make it to the final publication.

There are some great submissions here, many from known names in the ed tech world and many from the general population of educators and technologists who have a passion for their work and want to share some tool or technique that has worked well for them. Most of the articles are geared towards the practical with learning objectives and examples of activities, but there is also a small selection of “thought leadership” content.

Here's a selection of articles that gives a great sense of the breadth of material made available through this endeavor:

• Vicki Phillips – Using VoiceThreads to Transform a Classroom

• Mandy Nelson – Practicing Fluency With Voki

• Kieran Mathieson – Textbooks for Flipped Classrooms

• Elisa Gopin – Interactive Storytelling

• Ann Gaudino – Utlizing Social Media in an Online Course

• Michael Graffin and Deb Frazier – The Global Classroom Project

• Lori Rusch – 5000 Mile Field Trip

• Kelly Walsh – 12 Potential Ed Tech Pitfalls

• Erin Klein – A Smooth Transition Into Flip

• Alfonso Gonzalez – Project-Based Learning

Stop by the Scribd.com Classroom 2.0 Book page today and give the chapters a look through – you're sure to find a topic of interest. If you are particularly interested in a specific topic, there is a “search” tool (in the upper right hand corner of the page) to facilitate your review of this wealth of resources.

On behalf of educators everywhere, I want to thank Steve, Richard, and Christopher for this innovative effort, providing many innovative educators a chance to share our passion for technology in the classroom, and giving interested readers these great resources to learn from!

Related Posts (if the above topic is of interest, you might want to check these out):
Tailoring the Classroom of the Future With the Fabric of the Past
4 New Technology Tools for Measuring Learning Outcomes
The Gamification of Education and Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Learning Benefits