I think any tools that could help with organization in a classroom would benefit the teacher, as well as, students. I found a great website that has tools listed that will help you with tasks such as note-taking, bookmarking websites, highlighting important text during online research, creating mind maps, tracking time, keeping up with appointments, collaborating with others, managing projects, and more. I like the idea of using Flickr, for creating presentations and slide shows, having virtual field trips, illustrating poetry, documenting schoolwork, and teaching geography by integrating it with Google Earth. In addition, to being able to connect to people from around the world. Just think how beneficial, these tools can be for students who are visual learners. One of the things that I noticed about these tools, that I believe to be advantageous, is that of being able to connect with other people from around the world. Like Facebook or Twitter, we are able to share information and pictures on a global level. Proper usage of these tools can help classrooms become more efficient too, by having easy access to information that normally would require more time to consolidate.
· http://www.online-college-blog.com/index.php/tips-and-tools/100-powerful-web-tools-to-organize-your-thoughts-and-ideas/
· Web 2.0 in the classroom http://prezi.com/obqzirjhtf-q/web-20-in-the-classroom/
Favorite Web 2.0 Tools To Date
I love my Facebook account, at first, I wasn’t so sure about the idea of letting people know my personal business or giving them a play by play of my daily life. However, I must admit that I enjoy knowing about what’s going on with my distant relatives and my friends. Through Facebook, I have been able to reconnect with friends and relatives that I have not seen or heard from in over twenty years.
If Facebook was to be used in a classroom, I think like everything else, there would need to be rules and expectations set. In addition, to implementing some type of Facebook Etiquette. I know this may be easier said then done, and there maybe other professional tools out there that could be used. But, students are using Facebook quite a bit. I could see how it would be a good communication tool for students and parents. In addition to connecting with students, teachers could create and online grade book and continue classroom discussion to supplement learning. It would be a good way of helping sick students catch up on work they've missed and in class assignments. Teachers could create a group to generate ongoing discussion of a lecture that was cut short at the end of 50mins. Making it a required part of class. Students spend alot of time on the internet, anyway, why not make it productive. Besides, they would probably welcome this new way to fulfill class requirements by doing somthing they like. It would be a way for teachers to make learning fun and exciting for their students.
I think parent’s would appreciate tweets or Facebook feeds about certain things done in the classroom. I think this type of communication has not caught on in the classroom, but I think in the near future, it will be seen as a more efficient way of communicating. As we know, part of the issue is that not everyone at this point has the technology know how, or technology tools to go about implementing them in the classroom. It is a sign of the times and the more we use something, the more commonplace it will become. Teachers may not have time, now to “Twitter”, but eventually, I think as they use these tools more and become more familiar with them it will be a more efficient way of communicating.
Everyone is so busy these days, I think we need to prioritize and make time for things that may be benefit everyone in the end. I am big on trying new things, out with the old and in with the new. I have a friend who just took a trip cross country and twitters his whereabouts and the different sites he visits. I love getting the “tweets”, it is so interesting to learn and live through his experiences. Look at all the paper we are still using, when clearly we are able to communicate without it, through email, websites or blogs. I get automated phone calls about MCAS from my kid's school, which are great, but guess what, if I don’t write info down, I will forget. Where as, if I had an email, I could refer back to the email.
I think if teachers had at minimum a site, that would lend itself to posting information about assignments, lessons etc. it would make their life easier and that of their students and parents. I think as educators we should embrace technology. I do not know how much time people spend on computers or some type of communication device, but it has to be quite significant. I think parents, that travel for work purposes, would appreciate being able to access or get info about their kids and be informed. I also believe that it could be a way of holding students accountable. If they know their parents know what is going on in the classroom, they would be more apt to doing their work, then waiting until last minute or not doing it at all. I think it’s important for parents to stay inform about their children’s education.
As far as, educational merit, for Delicious, I think it ise a great tool for accessing bookmarks that I usually wouldn’t have access to without my laptop. As well as, other bookmarks, that may be of interest to me and other educators. I think Library Thing, can also be useful to teachers and enables them to share info about their favorite books and that of others. I love the idea of incorporating pictures into lessons in the classroom, which Flickr enables you to do. Like the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, I think this type of technology lends itself for students to be more engaged and interested in the subject matter at hand.
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