Friday, October 21, 2011

Web 2.0 Tools

The project book by Terry Freedman, The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book, contains great resources and web tools to use in classrooms.  Two of my favorite tools are the “Talking Book Report” and “British Literature Wiki”.

“Talking Book Report” uses an online program called Blabberize.   This is great for illustrating passages from books or providing short synopsis in a fun and entertaining way.  First, the student uploads a picture that includes the head and shoulders.  They then follow the directions to create their 3D representation.  The student then uploads up to a 90-second audio recording of the synopsis of the book.  The student should also describe why they think others should read the book as well.

The web tool, British Literature Wiki, uses Wiki to contribute to a research project throughout the year.  Students contributed discussions, multimedia, and their own research.  The wiki was also used to keep students updated on due dates and announcements.  It is up to the students to collaborative build the wiki, adding their own researched material that, in this case, has helped other students across the world with their own education.

These sites apply to the NETS-S in a variety of ways.   “Talking Book Report” using Blabberize mainly uses NETS-S standards 1 and 6.  The web tool utilizes creativity and innovation that uses a created model to share book reports and explore different ways to share the information with peers.  The tool also exhibits standard 6 through the bit of technical knowledge that is required to upload a picture and audio to the website.   The site is user friendly and doesn’t require an advance degree in IT in order to work, however, minimal knowledge of terms is required.

The second tool is already set up, but to create a wiki page requires a bit more finesse and use of almost all the NETS-S standards.   The creation of a page requires innovation and creativity (NETS-S 1) to design the site to make it appealing to the eye as well as promoting students to add their own creative content to the site.  British Literature Wiki also exemplifies communication and collaboration (NETS-S 2) because the students are adding the researched content to the site as well as participating in facilitated group discussions that have been set up.  This leads into NETS-S 3 because each student is required to do their own accurate research and contribute to the site.  Lastly, British Literature Wiki also falls under the NETS-S 5 through it being required that a high amount of digital citizenship is essential.  Honesty regarding resources and citations is important making the website a reliable information source.

Overall, the project book by Terry Freedman has a variety of useful and fun web tools that apply to any age and grade.

Freedman, T. (2010). The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book. Retrieved October 21, 2011, from Educational Technology - ICT in Education: http://www.ictineducation.org/free-stuff/

2 comments:

  1. Megan,

    I think that the idea of having students pretty much place themselves in the book is a great way to get them interested in a book even if it is a book that they might not seem to be enjoying. If they can become part of the story it is easier for them to understand and they will have a better understanding of what is happening in the story as well as participate more. I think that this a great tool for any grade level.

    Sydney

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  2. Megan,

    These resources you found sound very fun and inviting for teachers to incorporate into their classroom. By having the students do these activities can give them a better understanding of what they are learning and what is expected of them in the lesson. I believe by finding different ways to teach students is the key point here. I agree that by incorporating concepts like these into the classroom we can have fun learning and reaching a greater level of participation and excitement towards learning.

    Danielle

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