I feel as though I should know more about technology than I
do. I mean most of what we are learning I’ve heard about but I didn’t realize
how little I understood it. Web 2.0 has revolutionized how the internet can be
used and yet how many of us actually take advantage of what it offers? Social
bookmarking is a way to take your “favorites” with you to any computer and even
share with others. What I find great about this is now I will be able to add keyword
tags to my favorite sites making it easier to find the sites I need. I also
look forward to looking through respected teachers’ favorites. You can find a list of the top 100 Social Bookmarking Websites by Pagerank here.
Wiki is a place where I could create a site and, unlike a
blog, anyone could add or change the information that appears. I could see this
being a great use for creating a group project for 4th graders through college years. A few years back this would have been a much better solution to
a group project I was working on. It was an on-line college class. The three of
us e-mailed back and forth until we found a date to meet. We split the parts up
and then we worked on our parts individually until we found another date we
could meet to put everything together. It was a huge hassle to find a time to
meet. I think a wiki site could have eliminated a lot if not all of the time we
wasted trying to coordinate our schedules. This "Wiki In Plain English" YouTube video explains how Wikis could be a useful tool in teaching and learning.
VoiceThread would be a great use in elementary schools to
create a presentation for a parents’ night. I know many schools are trying to
connect with students from around the world and I could see this as a wonderful
tool in bringing them all together on one presentation. VoiceThread is a way to
put a voice to an on-line presentation. Pictures, videos, power points, and
other things can be brought together with just a few clicks of the mouse. Here is a video showing how students from around the world came together to create a fantastic presentation.
Here’s what makes me sad. Time….I just don’t have enough of
it to explore and play around with all this great stuff!! I really look forward
to finishing my degree, in part just to have the time to explore and try all of
the amazing technological tools available. I know this is just the icing on the
cake and that once I dig into that cake I am going to find a unlimited concoction of flavors. It is
exciting to learn all the tools available to us all, but the new things I can
bring to my students to enhance their learning is even more phenomenal!
Lisa, you really do paint beautiful pictures with your words and I admire that so much. I think you'll be a great teacher. I think your blog hits the nail right on the head when it comes to how beneficial the tools from Web 2.0 are and will be in the future.
ReplyDelete-Robert Wolfe
Wow, thanks, Robert. I am so excited to start using all this new information. I find my ideas building, however, I am a bit scared that I will get into the classroom and find it harder to implement. But then again, it will probably become easier as my confidence builds.
ReplyDeleteLisa Hutchinson
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the wiki sites! I actually used a wiki in one of my reading classes. It was so much easier getting together to do group work than in any of my other classes! We all lived about an hour from one another, so the wiki was perfect for us to "meet" and exchange ideas. I see this tool as very beneficial for students to use, even in the elementary setting, particularly 6th grade. Kids are online in the evening hours, so what better way to make use of beneficial time than by having a site like this where students can collaborate together. There is still so much to learn concerning web 2.0 but I think with practice we will get it! I am so excited to begin implementing many of the tools and strategies about technology that I learn :)
~Tabatha
Oh, thanks for sharing. Good to know wiki does work the way I hoped. That will go on my list of things to remember for future use. And who knows, maybe I will get a chance to use it sooner than I think!
ReplyDeleteLisa Hutchinson