Web+2.0

= __ Web 2.0 Assignment __ = The emergence of Web 2.0 represents an important development in the use of technology in K-12 education. As a social studies teacher in training, I am continually amazed and excited by the potential that these ever evolving applications possess for the future of teaching and learning. In this paper I will briefly highlight the major features of 5 such applications and will discuss ways that I can imagine incorporating this technology into my future classrooms.

Podcasting
Podcasting is a very interesting medium, in terms of its potential as an educational tool, and it is one that I routinely utilize in my personal life. Using freeware such as “Audacity”, students can easily record short radio programs that can be edited and distributed with ease. Audacity gives users the ability to integrate music into their recordings and to utilize a number of features (e.g. fade in/fade out, volume control, editing) to give them a polished, professional sound. It is also possible to import existing audio files and to selectively edit their content. Once an audio recording is completed and converted into an mp3 format, it can easily be shared via personal websites/wikispaces or through sites such as Podbean or MyPodcast. As a teacher, such flexible use of digital audio files can be extremely useful. In the AP Government class I am currently observing, for example, interesting interviews, professional political podcasts (such as //Left, Right, and Center//), and historic presidential speeches could easily be distributed to the students through the already established class website. In this format, students would be able to upload these files to their personal mp3 players for repeated use. Teachers could also create podcasts of their lessons for study review and potentially even for communication with parents. Students could also be asked to create and edit podcasts as homework or major projects. This would be an especially effective tool for auditory learners like me.

Prezi
This is another potentially powerful tool for use in a high school (or college) classroom. Prezi is a creative presentation tool that allows users to integrate photos, text, videos, and drawing into a non-slide, non-linear, format that is visually interesting in a way that traditional PowerPoint is not. With Prezi, information is all contained on one continuous plane that allows for very interesting and useful spatial organizations. Prezi would be an especially effective tool for developing student presentations. The fact that projects are stored and edited online also means that students could work collaboratively without the hassle of having to arrange occasions to physically meet. Teachers would also be able to provide students with a link to presentations as homework or study guide material. Visual learners would, in my opinion, find this application to be especially appealing in that spatial relationships can easily be displayed and information can be presented in a less linear and more creative fashion than it can with other programs.

Google Docs
Google Documents is another fantastic application with a wealth of potential as an integrated teaching and learning tool. Users of this application have the ability to create, edit, and share documents (e.g. word documents and spreadsheets) all from an online platform. Because creating and editing documents can be done anywhere and anytime, students could again utilize Google Docs to work collaboratively on assignments without having to physically meet. Teachers could also have ongoing access to student work and could make continuous suggestions as students work through drafts.

Blogger
Blogger is a Web 2.0 application that allows users to document ongoing thoughts, photos, etc., and share them via an electronic journal format. In the classroom, students could use blogger to respond to writing prompts and complete reflective journaling assignments. Research shows that the kind of meta-cognition that students exercise when they complete such tasks is extremely important to the learning process, and Blogger provides a format that they (and their teachers) can access from anywhere. As a specific example, I can imagine asking my students to respond to newspaper articles, political cartoons, or ongoing current events. They could also set up RSS feeds to eachother’s blogs to create an online forum for discussion and meaningful collaboration.

Twiducate
Twiducate is an interesting variation on the social networking site Twitter. Through this website, teachers can create an online community for their classrooms where students can constantly share thoughts, ideas, inspiration, and questions. Teachers could also use this technology to keep parents informed of course topics and upcoming assignments. As a teacher, I could see using this application as a means of keeping students involved after the bell rings by requiring that they post 2 tweets a day. The tweets could be questions, links to interesting articles they encounter, or any other content related submissions. I could then use this information as a means of building on questions and information originating from these tweets. This could potentially inspire some really interesting lessons and would ensure a high degree of class participation.

The Web 2.0 applications that I have briefly touched upon in this paper do not even scratch the surface as to what kind of web-based technology is out there just waiting to be put to use in American classrooms. The ideas, innovations, and tools literally at the fingertips of today’s teachers are truly amazing and the potential for their use is virtually limitless. Knowing what I have learned through this assignment I can honestly say that I am giddy at the thought of putting some of these applications to use in my future classrooms.