Web+2.0

Elaine Crowe EDT 3010 Web 2.0 Assign. 6/26/10  Web 2.0 Tools There are so many opportunities in the classroom to enhance learning and to incorporate Web 2.0 into lesson plans. Today’s students have grown up with technology in their everyday lives, that it is a natural progression to integrate technology into the curriculum. By using Web 2.0 tools to enhance learning, you are giving students different ways of learning. Teachers and especially special education teachers can use these tools to help students who have learning disabilities a way to view lessons, visually, auditory, and hands on for optimal learning. The five tools that could be used in classes that could develop and enriched lesson plans are Prezis, Blogs, Mapskip, Bookr, and Podbean. There are many ways of presenting information to student’s, however, the Prezis is a way to create a visual that is meaningful and can incorporate music, pictures, and text all in ideas that connect a lesson to other tools within the Prezis. Some other features the Prezi has, is you can zoom into a specific point and going at your own pace, talk about specifics, or to go to portals resources within your Prezis. Examples of how you can use a Prezi; it can be used in math classes to show the importance of learning a specific type of math, it can be used for timelines in history class, and is a visually more interactive way of presenting then a power point. Prezis is a way for students to make presentations too. Within the Prezis, students can use Wikispaces, blogs, and other tools to interact and collect data. Teachers can grade and assess the lesson within Wikispaces to see progression on projects. The way a lesson can be enhanced within a Prezi really is endless. Another way to incorporate a tool in any class would be the use of blogs. They are interactive, you or the students are in control, you can archive information, and students who miss class can view lessons. Student can review classmates work, can be used for journaling creatively, and there is access to forums where students can ask questions. Using blogs in English class could make journal writing more interesting and interactive. By having student’s blog their journals, they can read what others have written on the same subject matter creating discussions that may not occur otherwise. Creating lesson plans that are interesting in a geography class can be challenging, the use of Mapskip can enhance any lesson. Mapskip features Google map, links to the site of place you are studying and the story around its significance. Photos are incorporated of the place you are discovering and an audio of a story to go with the map, the photo and topography are all included in Mapskips capabilities. This is the most visual enhancing way of presenting a lesson. This could be used in any social studies class, English class, and world language class to create a more in-depth look at a location and its importance to the lesson. One of the most creative ways for students to express themselves may be through the use of Bookr. Students can create a book where the pages actually turn. Bookr can use Flickr (another Web 2.0 tool) to put pictures in their books along with the text that they write. This can be used by elementary school to high school students for many different lessons. Elementary school children can create a picture book that can be published. High school students can do a research paper in the form of a book with visuals using Flickr or putting their own pictures creating a more visual and interesting presentation than just a power point or a slide show. Bookr can be used for any class where research papers can be shown, or for creative writing classes to make a lesson more interesting for the student. Lastly, Web 2.0 has the capability of helping English Second Language learners (ESL) learn English. Podbean features vocabulary for ESL students through tutorials in all areas of education. Students can improve their vocabulary by listening, follow along on a PDF, and can blog questions about the subject or passage they are reading. Podbean can help ESL students learn about specific words and their meanings within the podcast. This can be very beneficial to ESL teachers or teachers within the general education to differentiate instruction to help students who may struggle with comprehension. This can also be useful in reading classes or for special education teachers to create a lesson that breaks down information for maximum comprehension. There are so many possibilities for the uses of Web 2.0 within the classroom. Because today’s students are so technologically savvy, teachers need to be more creative in their lesson planning and Web 2.0 gives teachers endless ways to do this. Web 2.0 should not replace face to face instruction, but can enhance lessons that will be more meaningful and where connections can be made. These tools can create social interactions where students who have difficulty can relate to other students on a whole other level. The use of Web 2.0 is free to access, and gives today’s teacher a way to connect with students and can enrich their learning experience.

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