14 October 2009

My Favorite Web2.0 Tools

Web2.0 is the collection of many different tools that all use the internet to create, store, and share items. Any person with access to internet can create, store, and share documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos, audio files, blogs, websites, presentations, slide shows, calendars, etc. Web2.0 tools have eliminated the frustration of compatibility issues and the loss of material due to software or hardware crashes. These tools are very useful in a classroom because they allow ALL students to access the same items (ie document or presentation) from any computer with internet. I will not need to remember my computer every day, nor cross my fingers that all the necessary hookups are available, because all material is already there and waiting. These tools also allow me to give quick feedback to students, allow students to give feedback to each other, and eliminate the "dog ate my homework" and "I lost it in my binder" excuses.

Two tools I found interesting were the audio recording devices like Yodio and UStream and the Google Sites website creator. UStream is a free Web2.0 tool where students can record and broadcast either audio and video or just audio. There is a button where students can link their video to a blog. This would be a great tool for foreign language oral assessments and oral practice. They could upload it to a class blog for me to assess. Google Sites provide a quick and easy (HTML code free) way of designing a class website. This is a great tool for keeping parents informed and to keep students informed in case they forget the assignment or left their notebook at school. It is a one-stop shop for all class information, so information is organized and easily accessible. Also, students may be able to create their own sites and begin a portfolio of their best work and thoughts about the class; this would give them ownership of the content.

1 comment:

  1. Great definition, and nice selection and examples of web2 tools for the classroom. I can see you're already on board ...

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