1. Web 2.0 technologies can be an extremely useful thing to use in the classroom. It is definitely a good thing that they are no longer optional. However, I think some of them are more useful than others. Some of the more useful ones are things like podcasts (what I listened to to get this information), blogging (what I am using to make this post), as well as something like Napster, which allows for peer to peer sharing. These things can definitely help in the classroom for students and teachers. It helps enable us to share information to people where before wouldn't have been possible without Web 2.0 technologies. Some of them can be a little bit risky too. Things like Wikipedia, and Wiki where anyone can put in information can lead to a lot of inaccuracy. It is important that we teach students, and teachers to know how to use Web 2.0 to their advantage.
2. I think the tool Library Thing is an awesome thing that teachers can use in the classroom. For example, for a lesson if students were assigned to read The Great Gatsby you could then have them go on to Library Thing and connect with others who have also read it. Here they could obviously ask questions and get into discussions about the book. It is like an online book club. I think doing this would also encourage students to use Library Thing for their personal books and would then encourage reading and discussions of their readings.
https://www.librarything.com/
3. I think Gamification is a technological advancement that holds a big promise for education. Turning learning in to fun games definitely increases motivation and the understanding of the content. Not only do I think it would work for younger students especially but even high school students benefit from it. Whenever I have been able to use games to learn, it has made me so much more engaged and interested in the lesson being taught. I also think this is awesome for students who are unmotivated, I think it would help their motivation if what they were learning was taught to them in a fun way.
Hey Lindsay, I agree with you. It is really cool that the website "teaches you how to teach." Though I think it is important for teachers to go into teaching already having a good plan for how they want to teach, I think it could be helpful to see different perspectives on specific topics.
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