We have been having quite a bit of fun in my Advanced Technology in Schools course. A big part of the course is exploring the magnificent array of on-line tools for teachers.

Our usual modus operandi is to introduce a class of tools or services–wikis, blogs, video hosting, social bookmarking, mindmapping, etc.–and each person in the class takes a tool and works with it for a while. Then they prepare a short demonstration of the tool or service for the class (we used jing for some, and in-class presentations for some). A blog post is also prepared and posted in our community blog.

Because I have a small number of people in the class, I made it a rule that there could be no duplicates when selecting tools or services for review. So every time we start a new topic, I create a forum for students to “claim” their tool or service. A proper claim requires the name of the tools to be specified in the subject line and a link to the tool to be placed in the text.

It is amusing to watch the race to stake a claim. We all laugh about it, but the competition is fierce! And woe unto the absent student . .