Web+2.04

The Incredible use of Web 2.0

The Web 2.0 gives us so many opportunities that we have never had in this world before. With this new system we are able to connect with people all around the world, by just the click of a mouse. Web 2.0 gives us ample opportunities to interact and it is a great tool to be used in the classroom. While I was doing this assignment, I learned of many websites and tools that I had never heard of before. I think these tools will be so useful to me while I am in the classroom teaching. I am so glad that I have learned about the Web 2.0 and that our technology has so quickly expanded. In this essay, I discuss five different tools on Web 2.0 and what they do. I will also discuss how I can incorporate these tools into the classroom when I become a teacher. The first tool that I looked at during this assignment was Prezi. I have always used Powerpoint and never even knew that there could be a much better tool to use while giving a presentation. With Prezi, one thing that you are able to do is zoom in and out. This helps your audience remember small details and remember the big picture. Prezi is very interactive with the audience. The space you work with is indefinite and you can create so much more than just a simple slide. Another tool I looked at using was second life. All I can say is wow! There is so much that you can do with this virtual life. With Web 2.0 it makes second life so interactive. You are able to create the life you want to live. There is shopping, careers, and even school. Many colleges are beginning to use this as a place to turn in assignment and have the full college experience without ever leaving you computer. This is a place where you can set up lectures by teachers and have students come and listen to them. It is so interactive and a safe learning environment. Second life is incredible. Pb works is also another great tool to use in the classroom. With this tool you are able to have children set up there own websites and have a collaborative though processing place for children to go. It provides access to information for students and even teachers. It’s great for children because they are able to not only find information, but put their own information up on Web 2.0 and share their thoughts with others. Blogger is a great way to express yourself. There are many different blog websites, but this is one of the most popular ones. In blogger, you are able to upload pictures, write a story, and ideally share your life. You can add music if you would like, share thoughts, and entertain people all throughout the world, possibly people you may not even know. It even gives you an opportunity to create your own template and have your page look however you want it to. Blogger is great! My podcast is a tool that you can use to get your ideas and thoughts out there. It is a place to have music playing while you are speaking. You can combine all different noises and sounds while having them fade in and out. You voice can be the main subject or it cannot. With mypodcast, you can also listen to what others are doing on the Web 2.0. It’s an excellent tool for interaction! While I am teaching I think these tools would be great to incorporate into my daily lessons. It will be a nice splash of color to dull subjects that children don’t necessarily like learning about. I think Prezi is a great tool to use in English. You can have a whole conversation about a particular book including meanings, pictures, symbols, etc. The zoom in and out will be useful for children to understand the big picture. I would use Prezi like a giant white board that children can answer questions to and I can put the answer in. They will be sure to remember the lessons taught in Prezi. Second life I would use to make up class assignments. It is like I could be at the child’s house while he or she does homework. If the students are confused as to what they are doing, they could quickly jump on web 2.0 and use Second Life and my class lecture to understand. It is a great way to reiterate what the child learned in class for that particular day. I love how it is interactive. It’s like having school at your house. Pb works is like a wiki space. It gives children the opportunity to create their own website and share ideas. I think I could use this tool in a science project or history project. I could give the child a country to research and the different topics they have to know about it. Then, they could use PB works to fill in all the information. They students could add picture, sounds, and all information they’ve learned. It’s a fun way to make a virtual poster. Blogger is such a great tool to use in schools. I think it is vital for children to constantly be writing and expanding their skills. As we would read books in school, I would have the children go to blogger and fill in how the reading assignment made them feel. They would be able to express what they loved, what they hated, or places where they were confused. Blogger would be used to help writing skills increase and also have a better literary comprehension. This tool is excellent and I will absolutely use it in my classroom. A lot of children are not good test takers. It is hard for them to read a test and write down the right answers. However, this doesn’t mean that they don’t know the material. The same students could know the subject content and be able to speak it out just fine. This is where my podcast helps out. Children could record their answers on a podcast and easily explain their answers. It takes the pressure off students who aren’t good at sitting at a desk reading and writing answers. It makes learning more interactive and exciting for students. I think many children’s grades would increase and their knowledge of the content would also go up. Students would begin tp believe in themselves and want to do good at the tests. Also, they would be alone and not distracted by other students and the risk of cheating would rapidly decrease. Podcasting is a great tool that web 2.0 has brought to us. All of these tools are so incredible and we are fortunate to have web 2.0. I can’t imagine a classroom without these great tools and you can be sure I will out them all to good use!