This document provides suggestions for using various online tools to facilitate collaboration and communication. It recommends using Voicethread to get commentary on student work or books from others. Livebinders allows collecting resources in one place for students. Skype enables collaborating with others through video calls, such as discussing books with students or authors. Writepath is an international writing event where students can comment on stories started by children's authors.

1. Caroline Roche
Advanced Lead Practitioner
carolineroche1@hotmail.co.uk

2.  Go to the site: http://voicethread.com and sign up
for a free account
 If you want an educators account, which you can
use with several pupils, that is not free, but not
expensive either.
 Use it to comment about students work
 Use it to show pictures and ask for comments
 Use it to spark reading ideas

4.  Use Voicethread to comment on books for a book
prize like the Carnegie Medal
 Use it with AL pupils for commentary on texts
 Use it with your primary school partners to do
transition work
 Use it with other schools as a community project
 Use it with partners in other countries
 Time difference is not an issue!

6.  Livebinders allow you to collect resources in one
place that you would like a student to look at
 It creates a ‘walled garden’ without overly
restricting pupil searches or ‘spoon feeding’ them
 It is simple, and the pages update themselves
without you having to do any more work!

7.  Skyping is an excellent and free way to
collaborate with others. Download Skype
for free, and using a simple videocamera
or microphone you can use Skype to do
all of these wonderful things ….

8.  Talk to another colleague about a problem, anywhere
in the world
 Have a meeting of local school librarians, some
joining you via Skype
 Get your pupils to talk to others about books without
the bother and expense of a trip out
 Talk to your incoming Year 6’s on a regular basis, get
them to submit verbal book reports via Skype
 Talk to an author, lots of them are on Skype now

9.  http://writepath.ning.com
 International writing event which takes place every
October, created and led by Bev Humphrey
 Every day stories are started by children’s
authors, and your pupils have an allotted time slot
to comment on their stories
 This year lasted two weeks, and had two primary
days and one poetry day
 Contact: Libwithattitude@bevhumphrey.com

10.  http://writepath.ning.com
 International writing event which takes place every
October, created and led by Bev Humphrey
 Every day stories are started by children’s
authors, and your pupils have an allotted time slot
to comment on their stories
 This year lasted two weeks, and had two primary
days and one poetry day
 Contact: Libwithattitude@bevhumphrey.com