5 Educational Tools 2.0

There are many Web 2.0 tool that can benefit the classroom and curriculum, but I believe there are still numerous resources that are not useful in the classroom. For the most part, there are aspects of all Web 2.0 tools that are helpful and other aspects that are not. For example, social networks such as Twitter can be an excellent tool for allowing students to communicate with the outside world especially when in line with what that are learning in school. But at the same time, if used incorrectly, Twitter and other social media can be extremely distracting and even harmful in terms of cyberbullying. When using social media in instruction, it is very important to give clear instructions and expectations to ensure students stay on task. I also like blogs and wikis for building the students’ voices on a collaborative knowledge basis. Up-to-date computers and mobile devices are necessary to effectively use these tools. When using mobile devices such as iPads or other tablets, it would be smart to install the applications and programs beforehand and then distribute to the students.

http://docs.google.com

I am a hard-core fan of google docs and other applications google offers such as google sheets and google slides. I really like how you can save all of your papers and projects on to your google account, so if your computer dies in a horrific drowning accident, you still have all of your stuff! The collaboration tools google offers are also great for teaching students how to work together and simultaneously. In addition to using google on the internet, you can also use it in the form of apps on any mobile device or tablet. Google docs are especially helpful when trying to collect information from a lot of people, such as an entire class, without wasting time. Just simply give your students the link to the document and each student can have the responsibility to input information. This 2.0 tool can greatly enhance teacher professional development.

I would use google docs when allowing my students to peer-review their papers or other projects. Similar to Word, google docs also has a great and easy to use reviewing tool that can be automatically seen by the original author. On the other hand, it is rather easy to destroy fellow students’ (or even teachers’) writing on a shared google doc. I for one find it hilarious to delete something another person is writing at that very moment, but of course this is not acceptable behavior. Be sure to warn students that there will be consequences for this kind of disrespect.

I enjoyed the concept mapping assignment because, as an extreme visual learner, I like creating and formatting colorful graphics. I found the experience to be helpful in creating concepts maps the correct way and with an online program. However, I am hesitant to assign my students to create a concept map with this particular program because I found the detailing to be a bit intense. I also got very distracting by all of the graphics and pictures they provided you. My inner-perfectionist felt that every arrow on every speech bubble had to be the same color, which turned out to be very tedious work that distracted from the main concept. Especially with teaching younger elementary school children, I would rather them create their concept maps on a piece of paper with markers, not on the computer.