As mentioned in previous blogs, there are several tools that can be of great use and very beneficial for teachers and students in the educational setting. Whether they be used in the classroom or at home, these are tools that can help to develop and establish an array of skills; including writing, reading, math, geography, organization, collaboration, and several more. Web 2.0 tools are no exception. These tools can help to generate several projects and ideas with such an ease of application and usage. They are available upon entrance to the website and are easy to share. Below is a brief video to explain these tools and what they can do for our learners.
My Examples
I began experimenting with several of these tools on my own, and found them to be a lot easier than I expected. I tried to use and look at different kinds of resources rather than all vokis or a certain tool. I definitely tried to stay dynamic and see what they all had to offer, and I'm glad I did.
The first one I looked at was Xtranormal. It was a simple way to create an automated visual. You pick through several options and settings to make your own words into a mini story. I thought it would be a lot more difficult than what it was, but I was very pleased with the whole process. It was also very easy to share and to put into the blog. Below is the brief demonstration of what I came up with while playing with this tool.
I began experimenting with several of these tools on my own, and found them to be a lot easier than I expected. I tried to use and look at different kinds of resources rather than all vokis or a certain tool. I definitely tried to stay dynamic and see what they all had to offer, and I'm glad I did.
The first one I looked at was Xtranormal. It was a simple way to create an automated visual. You pick through several options and settings to make your own words into a mini story. I thought it would be a lot more difficult than what it was, but I was very pleased with the whole process. It was also very easy to share and to put into the blog. Below is the brief demonstration of what I came up with while playing with this tool.
Secondly, which may just be one of my favorites, is the interactive whiteboard than can be accessed from ones laptop, iPad, or whatever they may be using. This is from the website Scriblink. As shown at the top of the screen shot I took of the whiteboard I was directed to, there are several tools involved in the use of the whiteboard, and can even include an individual uploading an image from their own computer to share immediately with those connected. It is also very simple to connect with other individuals, you can simply get the URL and send it to someone in a variety of different ways. They will then appear under the Users Connected area of the screen and they can chat back and forth about what is being shared. I thought this was a very neat tool!
Lastly, I created a Mosaickr. This is linked with another website that you can save your own pictures to called flickr. Even if you do not have pictures saved to the site, once you create an account it is still very easy to use by looking at images uploaded by others and shared by the use of hashtags (#hashtag). You can put as much time into as you want by selecting each individual image to make up one master image. Or you can make it a quick project by selecting choose 50 random tiles to make up the one master image. It is a creation of several small images put together to make one big one. I used an overall image of a computer for the idea of technology, and used several small images of technology and classroom settings to generate an idea of technology in the classroom.
These are tools I can find myself using greatly in the classroom, whether it be for in the classroom or for homework assignments (assuming they have the resources at home to do so). They are wonderful for peer to peer collaboration, but also for being able to have supervision by the teacher and/or parents. They create a great amount of creativity, and I believe makes it fun for the students to learn. I believe the Web 2.0 tools I shared were wonderful enough, but there are so many more to be explored that can be used for several different reasons. I think it takes some stress off of education and makes it more fun. Also, like already mentioned, the experience with these tools can help students to develop skills that they will be able to carry with them into our technological and modern society.