Blog Post #5

The internet is an important resource in order to engage students in a controlled environment. There are two main classifications of web tools: Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Web 1.0 tools present information to users with little to no interaction, while Web 2.0 tools have interactive elements that engage users visiting the site. I believe that the most useful Web 2.0 tools for the classroom are Twitter, Diigo, and YouTube. Twitter is useful for both students and teachers because it allows them to create their own personal learning environment. Students using a class Twitter account have the ability to interact with foreign educators, political figures, and other important educational accounts to ask questions and develop a global perspective. This alternative learning style may help to engage students who get bored in lectures. Twitter is also a great tool for educators. Educators can connect with other educational professionals and create a large network with this site. We are already creating a network like this using our EME2040 accounts. Another useful Web 2.0 tool is Diigo. Diigo is a social bookmarking tool. This tool is useful for students in two main ways. The first reason that this is useful is because it allows students to annotate articles to share with other students. The second reason that it is beneficial for student is because they can leave questions and comments directly on the article for their teachers to see. This allows for enhanced teacher-student interaction. For teachers, Diigo is useful to share professional development tools. A Diigo network of social studies teachers would be useful in order to share valuable websites and tools to improve lesson plans. A third Web 2.0 tool that should be used in classrooms is YouTube YouTube allows teachers to present relevant videos to students in class, or through a link at home. This tool allows for students to hear another way of explaining complicated material. YouTube channels such as Crash Course, ASAP Science, and others provide animated cartoon lessons that are useful to engage younger students as well. 

The Web 2.0 tools that I discussed above are all commonly used by educators and students. I discovered a Web 2.0 tool that is not as widely used, but is just as useful as the ones listed in the previous paragraph. Pinterest is a great tool for teachers to add to their personal learning network. Pinterest allows educators to connect with one another and "pin" innovative ideas. Teachers can also post links, pictures, and videos to their own accounts and "tag" them appropriately. This allows for other educators to filter results easier and access new ideas. I have experience on this site personally and I have seen first hand that this site produces unique ideas. Many other social networking sites repost common ideas however Pinterest does not. Pinterest always posts classroom decoration ideas, creative games, lesson plans, and activities to engage students in new ways. I believe that including this site in a personal learning network assignment in EME2040 would be a great addition to the course as well. You can access the website here. 

In the first part of chapter 12 we learned about groundbreaking technologies that are making their way in to the realm of education. The chapter covers technology ranging from gesture computing to electronic paper and beyond. I believe that augmented reality holds the biggest promise for classrooms of the future. Augmented reality uses a camera on a phone and augments it with computer images and videos. I believe that this technology will be beneficial for future classrooms because it can put students "in the action". If a student is studying history, a teacher can use augmented reality to portray historical battles in the classroom. Geography teachers could augment their classrooms to appear with natural landforms and ask students to identify landmarks near them. This technology could also be used to bring science experiments to life in science labs.