Web+2.0+Group+3

Group Three: Singewald Directions: In your group, find 10 Web 2.0 tools that are relevant for today's teachers. Create a product using each of the tools, embed your sample, then write a 500 word review of the tool including overall impression, ease of use, relevant application, grade level recommendation, and any tips or pointers.

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__ WIX __

WIX is a place where you can create a free website. There are all sorts of templates you could choose from or you can create your own. The link above is to my WIX website that I created. It is a introduction to a lesson on Healthy Living. I also created a video to go with the lesson. I think WIX is a great tool for teachers and students. Teachers can upload videos, lessons, worksheets and many other great things to their website. Students can get on their teachers website and complete a lesson or anything else that the website is for. Students can use a WIX and create a website themselves. I think I would have my students use a WIX for a literature unit. They would be assigned to create videos, upload pictures, answer questions and anything else with the unit. This is a great way to get students involved in technology. I think the hardest part for me was finding the right template. After I found one that I liked, everything else was easy. You can choose a template and rearrange everything. You can add pages, take pages away, add pictures, remove pictures. I think it is fairly easy to use. I think that the grade level for WIX could be from 4th grade and up. As a teacher I would have to show my students how to create a WIX. I think after that students will be able to create one with no problem. I think it is very easy to use and it looks great!

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Youtube is one of the most popular tools to use in the classroom. It is a great way for teachers to show something really fast. Above is a video the my classmates and I created for a Spanish project. It was a lot of fun creating it and helped us learn Spanish in a different way. Youtube is a great way to find all sorts of videos. You can find music videos, self created videos, informational videos, ect. I have witnessed a lot of my teachers using Youtube in the classroom. My religion class used Youtube to show how music videos relate to things in the Bible. Teachers used informational videos to explain what we were learning in the classroom better. Videos were used to show examples of what we are trying to learn. In my education classes, teachers have used Youtube to show different teaching techniques in the classroom. It makes more sense to me to actually see what technique I am learning rather than reading it out of a text book. Youtube is also great for tutorials on how to do different things. I know for a fact that I will be using Youtube in my classroom in the future. I have created many mini videos on things that I was learning in class as a project. I have been making Youtube class project videos since high school. I think it's a great way to have students create a project. I have had to create a movie on a book we read in class, a poem, a short story, and other skits we created in class. I would have my students use Youtube for a lot of different things. Since iPads are so popular in the classroom now, I would have my students create many different videos for their lessons and have them upload them to a class Youtube account. There are so many different things that a teacher can use and do with Youtube.

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SlideRocket

SlideRocket is almost just like a Power Point. It is an online presentation that is more creative looking than a PowerPoint. Above is a SlideRocket that I created for a presentation on Action Research. It was very easy to use and looks really good. As a teacher i might use this as a presentation to a lesson. I might also have my students create one and present it to the class. I think SlideRocket can be used for 3rd grade and up. SlideRocket is in the Cloud so you can present it anywhere without worrying if it is saved to a flash drive. There are a few templates to choose from but they all look really great. If there was something that I was confused about I just looked up a video on Youtube on how to do it.

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Prezi

Prezi is another presentation tool that teachers and students can use. This one is more fancy than others. It was pretty difficult to understand at first and I have to watch a lot of videos but once I understood it came out great. It's not like a boring slideshow presentation. It have zooming effects that can grab the viewers eyes. I think I would have grades 6th and up use a Prezi. I think it is a bit hard for the younger students. I would have my students use a Prezi for projects and presentations. We would probably spend some time on learning how to create one but once they have understood it I will have them create presentations on whatever we are learning in class. I think I would give my students the choice between Prezi and SlideRocket because I think that some of my students might like the more traditional slideshow.

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Quizstar is a place where teachers can create quizes/test all online. You can create a class that your students can log onto and then take quizes. You can make your classroom page public or private. This is a great way to go paperless and have everything graded right there on your classroom page. I think I would use Quizstar for a lot of literature lessons I teach. I will want to know if they understood what it is that they have read and understood the standards that were covered. I think you can use Quizstar from grades 3rd and up. This is a great way to stay organized and to stay on top of things. You can edit your quizes and differentiate your quizes for those students who need it. It is a great way to keep track of student progress and the students can view their scores too.



Glogster

With Glogster you can make a free account. It is used to make a virtual poster. You can include pictures, text and videos. Along with glogster there is also glogster edu as well. This would be a great tool for upper elementary school and for teacher use. It is a fun way to make a presentation. You can share what you create online with anyone you want.



Bubbl.us

I never heard about this website until I started researching about different web 2.0 tools. But this website is really great. It is free and what it does is that you can make brainstorming webs. This could be used to write papers or do any other type of project. Even younger kids could use this because it is so easy to use. I would definitely shoe my students this tool to use because I think it would help all students out. It would help them stay organized and it can be an easier way to brainstorm. Teachers could use this as well to plan out a lesson or for anything else.

Web 2.0 Group 3

Word Magnets

I couldn't find a picture of this website so I posted the link instead. This website would be a very good tool for the primary grades. What students do it click on what they are working on in class, such as; long a vowel, short a vowel, etc. Then a picture, a box, and a word wall show up. The student drags the words in the box to see how many sentences they can make that describe the picture. I would use this for sure in my classroom. It is a good interactive way to learn about sentence structure and the different vowel sounds.



Toondoo

I never heard of Toondoo until this year. But it is a fun way for students to create stories. I would use this for my students to create new stories but it could also be used for students to recreate a story that we read in class. It is easy to use and free. It is a good way for students to show their creativity without having to draw anything themselves. I would have my students use this a lot during class if they enjoyed using it.



Facebook

At first I didn't agree to using facebook for a classroom since it can be a dangerous website. But there are so many privacy settings that you can apply to groups and pages that it has made it way safer and I do believe that it is a great thing to use for a classroom. If I had a group for my classroom I would make it so that it can't be searched, and you have to be invited to be in it. I wouldn't make it mandatory, but I would make it known to my students parents that I did have a group. I would use it to share students work and to talk about what we were doing during the day and could post the homework in case students forgot what they needed to do. Parents could also post comments to their children throughout the day. Also with the permission of the parents I would post pictures of the class to show their parents what we are doing throughout the day. If facebook is used correctly it can be a great tool for the teacher, students and parents.