Web+2.0

There are a great many tools associated with the Web 2.0 that can be very beneficial in a classroom context. The use of tools such as Wikispaces, blogging, Prezi, Secondlife, and podcasting can help to reach those students who may be having trouble with the work as well as keep them engaged in the material. By using a site like Wikispaces, the teacher can create class website that will allow the students to visit when ever they may need help. This site can contain links to the teacher’s lectures, practice work sheets, websites that contain extra information, and so on. Through a site such as this the students can also e-mail the teacher with any questions they my have, allowing the potential for immediate feedback, so the student would be able to complete their homework correctly, rather than finding out that their interpretation was wrong after they had already turned it in. As part of the class site, the teacher can add a blog. In this blog the teacher could post a number of things, from class lectures, to anecdotes, to pictures from the class; the sky’s the limit. Through this tool, the students can have a reference source for any concepts that were covered in class that they have having trouble with as well as read what there teacher did with his, or her, weekend, which could make them feel more comfortable in the class room. Perzi is a tool that can have a great benefit in a class room setting. By using Perzi to create class room presentations the teacher can engage the students far more than a blackboard and a few over head slides. The teacher can introduce new concepts that can grab the attention of students who learn by reading, hearing, and visually. By creating a true multi-media presentation to introduce, say, the Revolutionary War, the teacher can truly engage all three types of learners, assuring that the maximum amount of information is retained by the students. Secondlife is a social networking site in which the student would be able to connect outside of the class room to help each other with homework while having fun playing a “video game.” The students can create and avatar and create a world where they can join together to discuss their homework was well as the goings on in there lives in the context of a cyber world. It could also allow student who are not felling well to attened class via the web, so they do not miss out on there lessons. There are some potential drawbacks to this, like the potential for inappropriate use by the students, but, as previously stated, it can be very beneficial as well. The implementation of podcast would be another benefit to students who have missed class. The teacher can record the days lecture and post it as a podcast so the student who was feeling ill can download it and listen while at home. While this would not allow for the student to ask any questions of the teacher, directly, it would give the student a good amount of background knowledge on the subject so they can move forward with their work. The Web 2.0 can be a lightning rod for controversy, but it can also be highly beneficial in a class room context. By using such tools as Wikispaces, secondlife, podcasts, Prezi, and blogs the teacher can maximize the amount of information retained by the students, assuring that they remain up to date on there work.