Peer Comment on Web 2.0 typing

I think that typing is a skill that students need to learn and master. I think it is a skill that should be easy for students with the amount of time they spend on the computer but many of my students do not have that skill. Some of my students can text faster than they can type. I think you bring up some great questions about how are you going to know if it is that student typing or not. I think with an online class it is hard to know that any of the work that is completed is a product from that student. There is a trust factor involved with an online class and if the student does not actually do the typing part of the class then the rest of the class is going to be difficult for them and take more time than it should. That is why you are teaching that part of the class. It is not a bad idea that all online classes do a typing session. Those students who can already type would fly through the assignment and those students who are not great at typing would greatly benefit with some practice before the class actually begins.

Web 2.0 Notely.net

Notely.net is a web 2.0 tool designed for students to help organize their schooling and busy lives. There is a schedule, calendar, note-taking, and homework planning tools. It is an alternative to the traditional planner that some students do not get excited about using. I think that some students would be more willing to use this tool and the technology that they are already using instead of the traditional method. The schedule application can be used not only for your school schedule but also for any appointments a student would have during the day. The calendar application is easy to use and easy to read. The not-taking feature looks like it would be easy to organize and interpret. I think that some of my students would really like and utilize this tool because of it’s ability to be accessed from any computer and any cell phone that has internet. I do not think that this is something that I would require students to use but more as something to introduce students to as a time management skill.

Web 2.0 Gliider

Gliider is another 2.0 tool that I can see myself using in the classroom when I talk about finance and planning. This web 2.0 tool is used to help plan and organize a trip. The site has the ability to save important events and places that you would want to see when you are going traveling. I would have students use this tool to actually plan a trip. I would make sure that when they are saving their information that they make sure they are saving the cost of the places they are trying to visit. I would then have the students make a timeline and a budget for their trip. The goals of this project would be to have students learn how to research a specific place, time management with the timeline, and creating and planning a budget. These are all skills that students can use not only when they are planning a trip but when they are planning their monthly budget.

Web 2.0 Storybirds

Storybirds is a web 2.0 tool that is used to make short visual stories that you can share with anyone. This tool is used to make a short story with visuals almost like a simple story book. I would use this in the classroom for a student to show the information that they have learned in a different way. Having a student make a story is great way to develop critical thinking and creative thinking. Storybird also has some great features dealing with the ability to share your stories. Other people then have the ability to give you feed back so that you can improve your storybird. I can see myself using this web 2.0 tool in the classroom by having a student describe the process of cellular division in story form. The student needs to understand the topic well enough so that they can assign characters to the different cell parts and create a story demonstrating their knowledge. Students would then be able to share the story with each other and comment and reflect on each others project. The site is also adding a printing function where a student has the ability to display his or her project after it is complete. The website produces a high quality project that looks professionally done.

Social Bookmarking and Education

There are many educational uses for social bookmarking. Some big advantages to social bookmarking in general is the ability to get to your bookmarks anywhere in the world as long as there is internet and the ability to share your websites easily with specific people or the masses (Thompson, 2008). These are huge advantages to eduction especially teachers because they are able to go to any computer in the world and have access to information that they use on a daily basis (Hastings, 2009).

There are three major ways that social bookmarking can benefit education. The first one is to improve teacher to teacher communication. Teachers are able to share bookmarks and information with each other without having to copy and paste many different websites to each other. Teachers can also view newly added sites at anytime. You do not even have to know the person you are sharing bookmarks with and you do not need to share any personal information with them.

The second major way that social bookmarking benefits education is the ability for teachers to share with students. This can be especially beneficial if you want the students to do research from specific websites. Students do not have to waste precious time looking for valid websites. Once a teacher has found the websites that they want the students to pull information from they can tag them and students have access to the information that you want them to have anywhere there is internet.

The last major way that social bookmarking benefits education is the ability for students to share information with other students. Students can use information that their classmates have found for their own use. Students have a ability to work together on a project from their own home (Buffington 2008).

Social bookmarking can increase the speed and amount of information that teachers and students can use that really benefits the educational system.

Buffington, Melanie. (2008) Creating and Consuming Web 2.0 in Art Education. Computers in the Schools. Vol.25 Issue 3/4, p303-313. Retrieved October 10, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=18&hid=103&sid=1d8d2d40-cc8a-4f28-901d-db683f607649%40sessionmgr112

Hastings, Robin. (2009) Collaboration Tools, 2.0 Style. Library Technology Reports. Vol.45 Issue 4, p19-27. Retrieved October 10, 2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=111&sid=1d8d2d40-cc8a-4f28-901d-db683f607649%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JmxvZ2lucGFnZT1Mb2dpbi5hc3Amc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl#db=tfh&AN=43280596

Thompson, John. (2008) Don't Be Afraid to Explore Web 2.0. Phi Delta Kappan. Vol. 89 Issue 10, p711-778. Retrieved October 10,2009 from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=21&hid=3&sid=1d8d2d40-cc8a-4f28-901d-db683f607649%40sessionmgr112

Anti-Teaching

I really like the idea of anti-teaching. The word anti is a negative word. I like the idea of a teacher as a facilitator rather than an anti-teacher. People have access to information at the tip of their fingers at any time anywhere. Why should a teacher have teach and recite information to students and have the students recite the information back when that information is in the palm of their hand literally all of the time.

Teachers need to teach students how to ask the right questions. Students and teachers have access to any and all information but how to find and determine how to solve a problem is what teachers should be teaching. What questions should students be asking and how they compile information to answer the question is the new wave teaching. Critical thinking with an abundant information is the answer to the anti-teaching idea.

Potentially teachers should now take the label facilitators. A great teacher in the future is not going to be a teacher that can give an amazing lecture and relay massive amounts of information to students. A great great teacher of the future is going to be able to lead a student to an answer of a critical question. A teacher that is able to lead twenty students to an answer of a difficult problem is going to be a great teacher.

Educational Uses of Blogs

The first main use of blogging for educational purposes is to use it as a student journal for reflecting and observations. This is something that teachers have made their students do for many years. The ability for a student to actually go home and reflect on a subject after processing it for a while and thinking about the topic I feel is great. People can reflect better allowing them to have some think time. Another advantage to blogging is that people can read their previous posts easily because they are dated and easier to go through than a traditional journal.

The second main educational use of blogging is that now a reflection or observation becomes a two way communication model. A blog has the ability for student student, student teacher, and teacher teacher interaction. Students and teachers have the ability to comment on reflections and observations. The original blogger then has the ability to reflect and repost on the topic. Many students and teachers then have the ability to read the blog at the same time and post comments which is virtually impossible with a traditional journal.

The other important communication method that blogging offers for educational purposes is the ability of a teacher to communicate many ideas to an entire class and the students are able to read them at their leisure and many times. Students can see the blog any time they go onto the internet. The blog can be set up so that the first window that pops up when they go onto the internet shows the teachers blog.