K12 Online - Trailfire

Welcome to the K12 Online - Trailfire Presentation part 2 where we will explore Trailfire by going on a trail.

The "big idea" of trailfire is to enable the community at large to assist others in making sense of resources on the Internet.

Select the blue arrow in the upper right corner to advance to the next mark.

A benefit of trailfire is that it can be interactive.  Viewers can leave comments based on questions asked or directions given in the mark.

Imagine creating a trail for a specific literature book your class is reading.  By guiding the students through websites that build background, develop elements of the story, etc., students can react and share their thoughts.

An idea of CR 2.0 is to create webquests using trailfire.

You do not have to download trailfire to benefit from the trails created by others.  Once at the main page, type in a topic that you are interested in. 

For this example, we are going to search for digital storytelling.

There are 19 trails created just for digital storytelling.  After the title of the trail, you will notice the guide's username.

To view a summary of the trail, select the title that you are interested in.

In the summary, you are able to see the title and the comments left on each page. 

You will find the trail link right below the about this trail near the top of this page.  By selecting the trail link, you will begin this trail.  Even though the trail was created by another guide, you can share the trail link with anyone to view.

We are now at norrisb's stuff page where we are able to see the nine trails that they have created. 

Let's take a look at Education 2.0 Tools trail summary.

Norrisb has marked 77 resources on the web that guide you through educational 2.0 tools and their educational implications. 

Just by glancing at the marks listed, which tool(s) have you used and which tool(s) interests you?

Most trails that I have used have related to professional development to learn more about Web 2.0 tools. 

Here is a trail by jeffvand that takes you on a tour of resources for educators created by Google.

There is even a trail of Second Life for Educators!

Once you locate trails that you want to visit again, select the add to favorites feature in the upper right.  You may need to move this mark in order to locate the link.  Just select the top bar and drag the mark to any location.

Now that you have explored trails, what are you ideas for using trailfire? 

• Will you begin with locating trails already created?
• Will you create trails to share with others for professional development?
• Will you create trails for your students?
• Will you show students how to create trails to share their knowledge?

CR 2.0 (Classroom 2.0) is a collaborative wiki where many tools are explored, learned and shared.

Explore the Trailfire wiki page to view articles, blogs, add your lesson plans and ideas and more to develop a network of trailfire users. 

Add your thoughts, ideas, questions and/or comments to the Trailfire discussion page.

Let's get marking!