In this extended video presentation THWT's Tom Daccord explores new research about 21st century teaching strategies and professional development and shares models, resources, and examples to help social studies teachers effectively integrate technology and address needed skills.

Introduction to the Web 2.0 Classroom video presentation

In this extended video presentation THWT's Tom Daccord explores the introduction of Web 2.0 platforms such as blogs and wikis into the classroom. He provides a conceptual framework and practical examples for effective tech-integration.

Wikis and Collaborative Learning

This is part 1 of a four-part video series on using wikis for collaborative learning in the classroom.

Wikis and Collaborative Learning: Wikispaces Part I from thomas daccord on Vimeo.

Social Bookmarking with Diigo

This EdTechTeacher video tutorial shows you how to bookmark web pages online as well as annotate, highlight, classify, and search bookmarks.

Twitter for Teachers

An introductory video tutorial to Twitter and TweetDeck for teachers from EdTechTeacher/THWT's Tom Daccord.

Podcasting: Garage Band & iTunes Video Tutorials

If you have access to a Mac computer, GarageBand is a terrific piece of software for recording and editing audio. Watch the edtechteacher video tutorials instructions for using GarageBand to record spoken audio, add background music, and edit your recording.

• Day in the Life of a Hobo podcast. Tom's interdisciplinary creative writing/historical simulation activity calls on students to research the plight of homeless teenagers during the Great Depression and then create their own fictionalized account of a day in the life of a Hobo. Students posted their story on their blog and read each other's work. Students commented by articulating what they liked about the story they read -- and what made it seem authentic. Students were then interviewed in character and recorded as part of a "1930s Radio Show" podcast. Music, clapping, and special effects were added to give it an authentic "studio' feel. Read about the lesson plan at edtechteacher.org
• "Social Mobility" audio blog. Tom's group audio blogging activity calls on students to compare social mobility and social inequality in America today with the "Gilded Age" of the late 19th century. Read about the lesson plan at edtechteacher.org

Blogging: Classroom Blogging with Blogger

There are many blog creation and hosting services on the Internet, but Blogger, Google's popular and free blogging tool, is one of the quickest and easiest to use. In workshops we often have teachers blogging in less than ten minute. Watch the edtechteacher video tutorials instructions.

• "Are we safer five years later?" Tom gave this blogging assignment on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which coincided with the first week of school. Read about classroom blogging examples.

Skype: Connecting to the World.

With Skype you can make free phone calls to other Skype users over the Internet. Skype also features videoconferencing so all you need is a webcam to make live video calls. Teachers can quickly and easily invite guests from all over the world to speak to their students. A sick student could participate from home or a sick teacher could run class from home! History and Social studies teachers can use Skype to connect with students in foreign countries. Learn about Skype and watch our video tutorials.

Google Search Strategies.

Too often students come to us and claim they "can't find anything" on their research topic or they "can't find anything good." Often it is because they do not have a search strategy. On our edtechteacher.org Google Search page you will find video tutorials for several of Google's search engines, including Google Advanced Search, Google Scholar Search, and Google News Search. The reality is that our students turn to Google more often than not for research needs. So, we focus our efforts on using Google effectively.

• A student told Tom that she was having difficulty finding sources on the Internet about movies in the 1920s. How could that be? Well, "movies" is not a particularly effective search keyword for information from the 1920s. People in the 1920s simply did not use the term "movies." Had the student done a little background reading on the 1920s in an encyclopedia before turning to Google, she likely would have come up with better keyword terms and phrases, such as "talking pictures," "talkies," or "silent films."It is a good idea to do some background reading and develop effective search terms before turning to a search engine.