Post 5- Web 2.0

Some Web 2.0 technologies I think are useful in the classroom and to support teacher professional development are blogs, YouTube, and Diigo. As mentioned in the podcast classroom blogs can allow teachers to post announcements and assignments for the kids. Also stated in the podcast, YouTube can be used to locate and share relevant information to the classroom. I don't think Twitter is as useful because there are so many things that kids can see because many of the accounts aren't private and if they follow older siblings and such they could see things they shouldn't be looking at and it's hard to keep up with Twitter if following too many people/accounts. I also don't think Wikis are very useful. To effectively use these tools you need certain computer, network, and periphery equipment. Computer equipment you need is a keyboard, pointing device (such as a trackball, joystick, touch pad, stylus, or mouse), and monitor. Network equipment you need is a server, WiFi network, and storage. And finally the periphery equipment you need is electronic whiteboard and/or data projectors to help showcase to students how to work these tools, and auto computer devices such as speakers, microphones, and headsets for students to listen.

An interesting web tool I might use when teaching is edmodo.com. Edmodo was founded in 2008 and already has over 62 million members on the website. It is a global education network that helps connect learners with the resources and people needed to reach their full potential. It provides an easy way for teachers to connect with students so they can safely collaborate, stay organized, as well as access assignments, grades, and other school information.

As a teacher I would have all my students sign up for my class and this is where I could give them details and reminders of assignments that are coming up in my class. I would also encourage my student's parents to sign up so they are able to see what we are working on in class. Parent's are able to see lessons, quiz, and event schedules as well as read and review teacher announcements. In conclusion, Edmodo is a great site that keeps parents and students up to date and keeps things organized.

I learned how to use Webspiration Classroom to create concept mapping. I have learned how to create a concept map now that is easy for children to follow along and learn from. One thing I like about concept mapping is that it is very easy to follow along with and shows connections with topics. I also liked how easy it was to figure out how to use this tool. One thing I would improve on next time is making it more spread out because many of the bubbles ended up being close together. I can use this in my future career by creating concept maps, or having students create their own maps, to help them study for tests.