5 Web 2.0 is the New Black

Web 2.0 is now a necessary component in teaching according to ELA standards. Students must be able to interact with their peers and sources in order to grow in a consistently growing field like technology. There are I think most password protected Web 2.0 tools can be used in a positive way in a classroom. However, I don't think having password protected sites is a necessity. There are other tools such as Youtube, blogs, and wikis that students can use to stay informed and interact with others. As the podcast stated, Web 1.0 is outdated, meaning students don't want to sit and look at static information. This is why I believe Web 2.0 tools are so important and vital to today's classrooms. It's important to make sure you have the technology required for effective use of Web 2.0 tools, however. You must have working computers, keyboards, and mice, as well as headphones in some cases.

I think Delicious is a very useful took for students in that it allows them to bookmark pages and sort them out. After playing around with it, I call Delicious the Pinterest of school webites. Pinterest and Delicious are both bookmarking sites that lead to quick, easy to access categorized "boards." This can be a key tool in a classroom because it's always difficult to just keep the ideas and articles you read locked away in your head and sometimes it's difficult to keep up with your list of sources as well. This website makes it a ton easier for students to keep that information at their fingertips. This could be great for organizing sources used for a research project or speech where sources are requested.

Working on the Concept Map was a hoot because I laughed at myself constantly for not knowing what I was doing. I did gain some pretty neat skills and knowledge through the assignment however. This was my first time using Webspiration and I think it's a good Web 2.0 tool for students and teachers to use in the classroom. I didn't realize how little I actually knew about World War I before this assignment. While I liked the concept of the website, I honestly didn't like the actual navigability of the site. I thought it was lacking in some areas of design. Putting a lot of information into a concept map online is actually a lot more difficult than I ever realized or thought it would be. Take a look at mine below!