Periodically, we like to share valuable eLearning resources with our readers. Today we would like to share a useful resource for the eLearning community called “Teach.Us”. Teach.Us is an Internet based community dedicated to assisting and supporting teachers who are interested in integrating Web 2.0 and other eLearning elements into their classroom curriculum.
Web 2.0 is a relatively new term in the technology field that was used for the first time around the year 2004 and is considered to be the second generation of the Internet. The term Web 2.0 generally refers to Internet applications that have a user participation component. Web 2.0 includes Internet technology such as social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace), blogs, wikis, and other various types of web applications. Web 2.0 also encompasses the idea that users with no specialized knowledge can create and publish their own websites, share various types of media using the Internet (audio, video, and picture files), as well as share information via other Internet applications.
As you can see by this definition, Web 2.0 could be a powerful tool for teachers who wish to collaborate and incorporate some type of eLearning into their teaching practice. This Internet community, Teach.Us, hopes to facilitate this goal. Teach.Us is a collaboration-style project itself with eight organizations from different European countries working together to achieve its common goals. These organizations include the Institute for Innovation in Learning from the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany. MENON Network of Belgium, Arcola Research from the United Kingdom, Internet Upper Secondary School at Otava Folk High School in Finland, Vinius University Institute of Mathematics and Informatics in Lithuania, Proinov of Portugal with support from the Regional Education Directorate of Madeira in Portugal, European Distance and eLearning Network (EDEN) of the United Kingdom, and European Schoolnet of Belgium. This project is also receiving additional support from the Lifelong Learning Program of the European Union.
Once you register as a member of the Teach.Us site, you will have access to excellent webinars, community forums, and other useful features to assist you in incorporating Web 2.0 elements in your classroom. The webinars at Teach.Us include topics such using and understanding Twitter, using games in education, sharing documents, and overcoming Web 2.0 obstacles just to name a few. The Teach.Us forums provide a way for users to interact, ask questions, offer advice, and share success stories. Inspiration may be found in the “Practices” section of Teach.Us. This is where fellow educators share their experiences with using Web 2.0 and eLearning in the classroom. Projects large and small are discussed here as well as reflections on the project success level and ideas for future improvements.
If you are a teacher who is considering implementing some element of Web 2.0 into your classroom curriculum, Teach.Us is an excellent resource. One of the goals at Teach.Us is to welcome teachers with a beginner level knowledge of Web. 2.0 and connect these teachers with experienced teachers and other experts. Teach.Us considers itself to be a valuable starting point in the path of teaching with Web. 2.0. To learn more about Teach.Us, visit their website at www.teachus.eu.