Week 2 Homework to Research at least 2 Web 2.0 Tools

I enjoyed reading the three different articles on finding the best Web 2.0 classroom tools.  These are great articles to share with our colleagues (that are not in this class) to help them explore web tools that they may find useful in their classrooms too.

I mainly teach computer classes so I'm looking at all this information and realizing how important my role is to help them learn how to use a lot of these tools not only in my class but FOR all their other classes and beyond.  I loved Katrina Stevens comment "Make students MAKERS not just MEMORIZERS."  I find it fun to try these tools and share them with students and my colleagues.  As I've read these articles, I've taken notes and thought of various colleagues that I could suggest some of these tools for them to try in their classroom.  I liked that Larry Ferlazzo is recommending sites that are FREE of charge--something we in Manchester really appreciate.  Sam, I thought of you when I saw item #'s 96-98 on Fitness in Jeff Dunn's article titled The 100 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools.

After reading about all the tools, I would use (and already do) Google Docs.  As an ICT teacher, I feel it is important to teach students how to manage their work in a web-based setting so they access it from any networked computer.  When students realize they can collaborate on assignments, they are sharing this opportunity with teachers that may not be using it themselves in their classroom.  When I explain to students how they can work from anywhere...a hospital room, relatives house, etc. they realize the ownership is on them to get assignments done on time.  If they are home sick, they can share an assignment with their teacher to submit it or get assignments from teachers--it works both ways.  The article by Mary Claudia on 5 Fabulous Ways to Use Google Apps in the Classroom was very helpful.  I had been teaching most of her list of providing instructions to learners of the apps but will add to my list the lesson on converting docs from one format to another and color coding for identification.  I believe students will find those tips very helpful.

I've been exposed to Poll Anywhere and find it useful and fun for students to use their smartphones to participate in a quick survey or two during class.  Unfortunately, not all of our students have that technology. The Chrome App Store is also wonderful, Screencastify, Educreation and Diigo are all apps that I'm starting to use. Screencastify is video screen capture software that students can use to present a project.  It captures their audio as well.    Educreation is an app that transforms your iPad into a recordable whiteboard. It records your voice, handwriting and also allows you to insert pictures to produce your own personal video lessons that teachers and students can share online. Diigo is a great place to bookmark and share web sites with colleagues.I'm a team member on my schools T21 technology cohort and I was most interested in Mary Burns article titled "How to Help Teachers Use Technology in the Classroom...the 5J Approach." Back in 2010, it was reported that only 39% of teachers report frequent use of technology as an instructional tool. In reading the list of limited use causes, I was struck by the realization that teachers are attending workshops to learn technology or how to use the software BUT integrating it into teaching and learning is what is most needed to help teachers actually use it. These type of workshops need to start occuring more so teachers can start implementing technology into their classrooms.