School Is Starting: What's Different?

A new school year has begun or will begin very soon. What will be different in your school this year? Will the students be blogging [1]? Student conversations on the Internet are growing in huge numbers. Podcasts are engaging not only students but also teachers and administrators. Students are using their voices as well as their pens to publish.

The Education Podcast Network [2] has a variety of podcasts for students in grades K-12 and for all curricular areas. Wikis [3] provide an opportunity for students to collaborate on projects, sharing information and data with one another. Online chatting between students in various parts of the world increases global awareness, especially through video chatting. With a camera built in to Apple's new MacBook and MacBook Pro, initiating a video chat is as easy as clicking the mouse. Employing these Web 2.0 tools, students may use a variety of learning styles and communicate using twenty-first-century tools.

Is your school district allowing this to happen, or are the ports blocked?