The term user-generated content (UGC)
refers to various kinds of media content that is produced by end users. It is publicly available and perceived as a key characteristic of Web2.0 technology, which encourages self publishing, online collaboration and sharing. The development of user-generated content, therefore, marks a shift among media
organisations from producing professionally created content to providing tools that allow users to share and express content. Obvious examples are blogs, wikis, twitter and podcasts.
User-generated content is becoming increasingly popular in teaching and learning and research shows it improves creativity, promotes ownership and presents opportunities for collaboration among students and teachers.
The following are examples of where to find user-generated content relating to videos, audio and documents.
VideosEurocreator: www.eurocreator.com
An educational initiative designed to encourage
students and teachers throughout Europe to create, upload and share at least one piece of
media.
Fís Book Club: www.fisbookclub.ie
A safe place where children upload and view video book reviews based on their independent reading. Bilingual and requires school registration.
Teacherstv: www.teacherstv.ie
A repository of videos submitted by the public and Irish teachers that specifically relate to education in Ireland. Offers an alternative to Youtube which is inaccessible on the School Broadband Network. Registration required.
School Tube www.schooltube.com/
A website for sharing and viewing educational videos.
Edublogs.tv edublogs.tv/
Another video hosting site dedicated to education.
ImagesImagebank www.imagebank.ie
A Scoilnet initiative enabling users to upload, share and use images for educational purposes. Images are commerical free and have a
Creative Commons licence applied.
I am an Artist - www.iamanartist.ie
This site is based on the Visual Arts primary curriculum focusing specifically on fabric and fibre, clay, paint & colour, print, construction and drawing. Users can submit work for display under the above categories. See the
Contact Us section for details.
Flickr, Picassa are also very popular for hosting images and now have educational based filtering prodecures in place.
DocumentsStorytime www.scoilnet.ie/StudentsPrimary.aspx
A area within the primary section of the Scoilnet website devoted to publishing student stories, poems and other work. Uploading accompanying image is possible. Contains hundred of stories, updated twice a week and features a "Top Story" each week.
Slideshare www.slideshare.net
A site for uploading and sharing PowerPoint presentations, Audio, Word documents and Adobe PDF Portfolios.Potential to share publicly or privately. (may not be accessible through the Schools Broadband Network)
Google Docs docs.google.com
An online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editor that enables students and teachers to create, store and share files. Find out more on how to use
Google Docs for education.
Wikis
A collection of web pages which allows users to add and edit content collectively. Tools that enable the creation of wikis include
Wetpaint,
Wikispace and
PBwiki. See
What is a Wiki for more information.
Blogs
Writings or posts of an
individual or group of individuals on a particular
theme which follow a reverse chronological order. Commonly used blogging tools include
Scoilnet blogs,
Blogger,
Wordpress,
Edublogs. and
Blogger (Blogger is not accessible on the Schools Broadband Network) Find out about school that are blogging
here.AudioPodcast Alley www.podcastalley.com/
A portal site for podcasts. Podcasts are uploaded or searched by genre. Guides on how to podcasts are also available.
itunes- U www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/whats-on.html
More than 250,000 free lectures, videos, films, and other resources from Univeristies all over the world.
podbean www.podbean.com/
A popular choice for schools for its ease of use and podcasting hosting service.
Find out more on:T4.ie Technology Supports Subjects Service - The Resource Sharing Section.
E-links - NCTE's online community of practice for post primary ICT coordinating teachers
Free technology for teachers - Blog post outlining alternatives to Youtube