Useful Websites:
- Official website for the Peace Corps Costa Rica TEFL program.
- Website for using TICs in Costa Rica: Ideas y recursos para hacer uso de la tecnología en ambientes de aprendizaje.
- Make your own website with Weebly.
- Poll your students in the middle of class without saying a word with Poll Everywhere.
- Improve your language skills and help others do the same with Livemocha.
- Create an online classroom with Edmodo.
- Download and share user generated lesson plans for free with Share My Lesson.
- Connect with classrooms around the world through ePals.
- Practice your English vocabulary or other subjects while contributing to a good cause with Freerice.com.
- Find definitions for popular terms in English that you won't find in a dictionary at Urban Dictionary.
- Create shareable publications online with Calaméo.
- Create animated videos and presentations with PowToon.
- Get students involved with technology by having them create an avatar using Voki.
- Practice your pronunciation through phonetics with the Sounds of American English from the University of Iowa.
- Shorten lengthy URLs with Bitly.
- Make language learning fun with Duolingo, it's an easy-to-use application to supplement the class.
- Find out what one second on the Internet looks like here.
- Find resources for your classroom with help from the US Department of State's American English website.
- Use Lingua.ly to enhance your language learning, it's a web and mobile based application that helps you "collect" new words.
- Find new interesting ideas and share your own on Pinterest.
- Make presentations online using Prezi.
- Share and view videos with YouTube.
- Create your own online professional network with LinkedIn.
- Share and find photos through Flickr or through smaller networks on Instagram.
- Get to work on major social media sites with Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
- Hold virtual field trips or connect with friends on Skype.
References:
- Great video on the difference between the World Wide Web and the Internet. You can also find the Everything Bad is Good for You quote at minute 7:12 of the clip.
- Buzzfeed article on dinosaur hunting satire.
- Survey results of the San José, CR metropolitan area conducted by Red 506/Grupo Nación about Internet usage.
- Article on how teachers feel about using social media in the classroom in the United States.
- Article on Laraine Cook getting fired for photo.
- Article on Laraine Cook's reinstatement.
- Mercury News report on Suzanne Hutton's removal from a California classroom.
- NYC Department of Education social media guidelines PDF.
- Celebrities read mean Tweets about themselves on this clip from Jimmy Kimmel Live.
More Ideas for Using Social Media in the Classroom:
- Jess Fee's ideas on Mashable.
- Samantha Miller's article on 50 ways to use Twitter in the classroom.
- Mr. Featherstone's blog about a Facebook activity.
- Article about 100 ways to use social media in the classroom by Online Universities.
- Scholastic article on virtual field trips.
- Edutopia's Matt Davis put together this collection of resources on using social media in the classroom.
- In depth PDF on using social media in the classroom by the Managing Editor of the Teachers' Lounge.
How-to-Wiki Pages:
For Twitter: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Twitter-Account
For Facebook: http://www.wikihow.com/Set-up-a-Facebook-Account
For Instagram: http://www.wikihow.com/Open-an-Instagram-Account-Through-PC
For Skype: http://www.wikihow.com/Set-up-a-Skype-Account
For Pinterest: http://www.wikihow.com/Sign-Up-for-Pinterest
For Flickr: http://www.wikihow.com/Open-a-Flickr-Account
For creating circles in Google+: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-Circles-in-Google%2B
For LinkedIn: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Account-on-LinkedIn
For YouTube: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-YouTube-Account
For Facebook: http://www.wikihow.com/Set-up-a-Facebook-Account
For Instagram: http://www.wikihow.com/Open-an-Instagram-Account-Through-PC
For Skype: http://www.wikihow.com/Set-up-a-Skype-Account
For Pinterest: http://www.wikihow.com/Sign-Up-for-Pinterest
For Flickr: http://www.wikihow.com/Open-a-Flickr-Account
For creating circles in Google+: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-Circles-in-Google%2B
For LinkedIn: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Account-on-LinkedIn
For YouTube: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-YouTube-Account