Web+2.0

1. What do you think of Web 2.0 in education? I have never been aware of this website until this particular assignment. I think it is such an amazing tool available right at our fingertips! There is literally everything you can think of available on this website, it is fascinating! I believe it to be extremely vital to have this information available for teachers. There are numerous amounts of search engines and tools that I never even knew existed. I know that the Internet is a very valuable tool, especially since almost everything we do now is done through a computer, laptop, iPad, cellphone, and so on. These tools that are available all in one space, that not only saves time for teachers, but allows them to be creative with such a variety of tools from research and video to organizing and graphing, there is something here useful to everyone! Web 2.0 is great for education, it gives teachers the ability to teach outside the box, and gain different perspectives on their teaching styles, while mixing it up with all of the available information and tools, it makes other ideas obtainable, it helps others become more creative and transformative.

2 & 3. Features of the 5 Web 2.0 tools you select respectively from the site, how you will use those 5 tools in your teaching respectively (please use concrete examples)? The first tool I was immediately interested in was the Organizing Tools. I am constantly brainstorming, and I think it is very important for students to do as well. There is a website that I have found through Web 2.0 called bubbl.us. This website allows you to create mind maps and images that are all intertwined with one another. Rather than when I was in school with circles in chalk on the board and a huge mess, this website allows you to save, print, and share with others, each student would get a copy as well as being a participant in the end project. Another site I enjoyed that is a little similar is SpicyNodes. I am a visual learner, and I believe that it can only help students when they are being interactive with particular assignments. SpicyNodes allows you to use images, text, and links together. I believe to be a great site that can allow students to create a page for each subject or assignment at hand. Students would be able to find numerous amounts of information from videos, to links, to images, and create nodes where all the information is in one place. The website helps foster creativity and brings in the feeling of exploration. What I enjoy most about this site is that it is not just about text, but includes everything else students use to create projects and assignments.

The second tool that caught my eye was Collaborative Tools, I could not even believe the amount of tools and documents available in this section. I did not even know where to start, this website will be a tool I will use forever. NINEHUB seemed like a great area to start. There is so much accessibility in one tool. Being able to use learning modules, Forums, Wikis, Databases, Blogs, and others to stay in touch and stay up to date on everything in your classes. Being able to teach and have students access the information where they can post blogs, and be apart of forums is great. I would have students become familiar with posting blogs and participating in forums for part of their classroom assignments. Being use to online work is important to gain strength in for the real world. I would also use DebateGraph. This tool would become a productive device for students to learn and create together. I would have groups work together with this site to make ratable maps that come from multiple perspectives. Students would have a perspective that would be presented in their finished project.

The third tool I would use would be Creative Tools. The first site I found to be fun and extremely interesting was Questionaut, I actually spent a lot of my time on this particular creative tool. I think creativity is so important, when you are creative you feel that you are having fun. Having fun and learning should be intertwined together, especially for younger students. I would incorporate this tool in many ways for many subjects. Students can travel while they are learning through this site. What I like most about this is that it is no only for one subject, but a journey and a trip through English, Math, and Science. I am not the biggest fan of Math, but when I saw the Lure of the Labyrinth, I became a fan again. When I am able to see something visually, it makes much more sense, especially when numbers and letters become intertwined. I would use this program with students to strengthen their skills, it is a program that makes math fun, and it makes learning fun!

The fourth tool I would incorporate into my teaching would be under Writing Tools. Smories would be a great activity and site for students to use to publish their own stories. I would use this site for students because they are able to get feedback from other students their own age, the pressure is lifted from each student. All of the tools in this section are similar but would serve a certain purpose depending on the particular subject at hand.

The final Tool would be Quiz and Poll Tools. The first site that I found was Yacapaca, and it is ingenious. This site helps teachers place already created tests and quizzes and helps produce an analysis. I think this tool would be great to see where particular students are struggling and if the information I had put on a test or quiz was answered wrong by a majority, or the class as a whole would mean that I am not doing my job correctly and going into enough depth on that particular topic. eQuizzer was another great site to use. If I wanted students to become more aware of an online setting I could produce tests and quizzes that students could take online. Students would become more aware of how to use to site properly, but also learning how to test online and use their time management skills.