Reflection #5: Communication Tool

Hey guys!

Today I am sharing about a communication web 2.0 tool I used when I worked in marketing!

BASECAMP is a really easy way of managing projects, people, and files all in one place. There are tons of built in applications that keep you organized, and allow you to communicate to the whole or just a couple people at a time. I never thought about using  it in the classroom, but I wanted to consider it from the perspective of an educator and how it might be used in the classroom.



I would recommenced watching this quick video to see how it works, because there are a lot of layers to it:

What I really liked about using Basecamp was how easy it was to stay in contact with people. I could write a quick message in a chat box, and be notified when they have read it and when I get a response back. I could see this being a benefit to teaching, because we would know if a parent or student received a message and/or assignment from us. You can send To-Dos to your students, and they have to check off when they have completed their work, and uploaded it. There is a schedule that allows you to see what is coming up and when it is due. You could even have students start small groups within basecamp to work on projects, where you can be a part of each one (similar to slack). What I really like though, is that you can assign tasks for students to complete and watch their progress to see where they are at with each step of an assignment or project.

There are some really great ways to communicate with your students, parents, and other teachers. This is just another option! Lets break it down:

Ease of use: * * (2 stars)

This would definitely be a harder platform to integrate into the classroom. I almost think your entire department would have to be on it to make it work... or possibly or entire school. But, it could be a good way for older students in a computer technology class to work on assignments together and be able to monitor their progress (I'm looking at you Matt and McKinzie!).

Versatility: * * * * * (5 stars)

There are so many really cool things about Basecamp that could really enhance your classroom. Again, I just think it could be more difficult than I imagined because there is a pretty big learning curve. Still, I really like the features and being able to see where your students are at along with the ease of communication.

Liklihood of using it in my classroom: * *  (2 stars)

As much as I loved using basecamp in a work environment, it may not be the most student friendly web 2.0 tool. I really could picture this being used more in a technology class where students were programming and building websites together. Still, it could be a fun tool to keep in my back pocket if I had students work on a really large project together. 

In the end, I think this site would absolutely be considered an R on the SAMR model. Who knew 10 years ago you could do business completely online, setting up projects and adding in clients. Why couldn't you do that with students, too? Maybe this would be a great platform so online students! Anyway, I hope you found it some what useful :)

Later gators,

Christine