Web 2.0 Final Reflection

The above Wordle is a compelation of all the words used in this blog over the duration of the Web 2.0 course.  Obviously from the above words you can see that I have found it 'Great'.

As a young teacher I'm keen to explore ways of engaging students and the various teaching resources out there.  This was a great means for me to get a grasp on a range of web tools and start thinking about how I can incoroprate them into my classroom, assessment tasks and teaching practice.

I often have thought about technology as a valuable teaching tool, but have struggled to put aside the time to setup valuable resources.  I have been inspired to create a range of TAS resources using videocasts for instruction machinery processes.  I'm also really keen to create some tasks using glogster and bubble.us. 

I have also come to realise that students are aware of so many websites that are useful for completing a range of tasks.  I need to engage this knowledge and get them to share it with each other and myself.  It's ok for them to teach me!

Web 2.0 has equipped me with a valuable set of teaching tools, I need to regularly refresh myself and remind myself of all these options out there and not get stuck just doing the same comfortable things all the time.

Module 10 - Wikis

The Final Module.  What a great learning curve this has been.  I have discovered so many new resources and refreshed my memory about some I already knew about.  The next step is to remember them and use them. 

Wikis are great and a good educational tool.  I have used them before for an assessment where students posted a review of a restaurant and then others commented on it.  I can see the potential for students to work together collaboratively using wikis and create a range of online resources.  I want to give this another go and get students to work together on a task using a wiki, maybe some visual research or brainstorming.

Module 9 - Networks

Scootle is  a great teaching resource with links to so many resources that can be used in the classroom.  Another great place to look for resources for various teaching topics.

Social networking is such a propular activity now, particularly for teenagers.  If a teacher can connect these social networking sites with education surely students will be interested and engage.  Just how can we effective make these links?

Second life as an interesting site which I have a lot of questions about.  I can see the real benefits of students exploring various historical, cultural and geographical sites without having to leave the classroom.  What a great resource for history and georgraphy.  I don't quiet know how I would link it to TAS subjects, possibly some architecture.  However, I wonder the security of such a site and possible interaction those external to the classroom/school?  This is something I wouldn't what to encourage and would be good if the teacher had access to enable such interaction.  Need to do some research on this.

Module 8 - Google Reader RSS

I'm still not entirely sure what RSS means/does, but I understand how Google Reader works.  It's a great program for subscribing to a range of sites and seeing the updates in one format without having to view multiple web pages.  It's a good one stop shop for updates and news that appears on all your favourite websites.  The only problem I discovered is that if a site you like doesn't have subscriptions then you still have to visit their website for updates.  Previously I would have used the gathering of this information via email updates, but this was very limited.

I can see the value of Google Reader for gathering current data from a range of website.  This may be helpful for research, keeping up with current affairs, and creating resources students could subscribe to.  I'm sure there are a great number of educational and teacher resources that could be subscribed to.

Module 7 - Bookmarking & Social Blogging

Delicious has always something I have considered with food, but this website is great and so useful for where ever you are.  I think the value of saving bookmarks and then being able to open them on other computers, such as the classroom is a great tool.  It enables you to not have to take your computer everywhere.  I'm assuming though you still need to have a central computer where you save the bookmarks originally, because otherwise you would have to download the toolbars on every computer you go on.  This would also be a great tool for students when researching for topics or assessment over multiple lessons in multiple rooms.

I still don't know about the idea of blogging and connecting with others this way.  I still like the idea of privacy of the things in my life and then sharing what I want in a more personnal, face to face situation.

Module 6 - Bubbl & Glogster

I really liked this module, very practical useful teaching tools.  The bubbl program is such a great resource for TAS faculties and I'll definately be using it with all years when brainstorming for design project ideas and research.  What a great find!  Glogster is great too and good, helpful tool for students to create posters and presentations that could then be presented to the whole class.  What a great way to gather data and put it together in a visually appealling way.  I will definately be using both these programs!

Module 5 - Podcasts & Vodcasts

I am familiar with podcasts and vodcasts in a range of situations.  I have used youtube and teachertube to find valuable resources for teaching.  Tapping into youtube is a good way to attract student attention as they often find interesting clips there.  I struggle to find the time and resources to create podcasts or vodcasts for teaching.  The options of having this kind of resource would allow teachers to connect possibly with students and ipods for educational purposes.

How many tools can a teacher learn and use and how will they get the time.  The resources so far are eye opening and good, but I don't think I could remember them all and use them all on a regular basis.

The story with voice was good and such videos could be good for student demonstration as well.

Module 4 - Flicker

Now days there are so many people that you want to share pictures with and it's so easy to do that using the internet, especially when you may have difficulty catching up with friends or family because they don't live near you.  I've looked through flicker a little before but was not aware of all the options and settings.  It's great that there is a private setting.  In a world that now thinks sharing everything is good via internet, I like to still keep somethings private.  I think the creative commons options is great.  As a design teacher I like to find images to use for various tasks and presentations, so it's good to know how I can do that without breaking copyright.

The options for class use of flicker is great.  Art and design/technology classes can beneifit by searching images that can legally be edited and altered for a range of purposes and projects.  The ability to share students visual work could be a good source of storage.  I do wonder if this resource is more beneficial for personal things rather than professional generally? 

Off to search some images.

Module 3 - Google Docs

Google Docs, what a great way to do things!  I wasn't even aware there was a format that worked in this way.  This resource will be great for so many aspects of my life to coordinate documents that can be viewed by many people and edited.  What a great management tool.

As a teacher this is a great resource for sharing tasks with students and allowing students to edit and alter work.  I'm struggling to see how this doesn't replace some of the value of blogging?  This could be a great way for students to hand in work and get teacher feedback and suggested changes with out any paperwork!  I don't think I fully understand how this work in the classroom and practically as a program.  However,  I think it's something I could grow to understand simply by using it.  Looking forward to experimenting with students and colleagues.  What a great way for teachers to share documents, programs, assessment tasks, etc that can be edited and kept in a current easy location.

Module 2 - Blogging

The world of blogging has always been of little interest to me.  I don't understand why some people feel the need to share their lives so publicly.  Having never explored blogs I am suprised by the ease of setting them up and maintaining them.  This ease has enabled me to see it as a good means of sharing information with family, friends, colleagues, students more easily than via email or other possible social networking sites.  The thing that I wonder though is the privacy of this information you place on the World Wide Web.

As a teacher blogs can open so many doors.  Professionally they can allow interaction between teacher and student, along with student and student.  The realm of possibilities to share information and communicate together in a none classroom environment is convenient and easy.  The ability for a teacher to share advice, notes, tasks and activities is easy and great.  The options for students to comment on each others work and share experiences and thoughts creates a learning experience which is student focused.  I am keen to use blogging as a means of continual student and teacher interaction in the future, the realm of possibilities to share resources, ideas and thoughts is extremely diverse.

Amy

Module 1 - Tools

Hi Everyone,

I look forward to working with you all as we take this journey in Web 2.0.  I'm a TAS teaching currently in my second year of teaching.  I look forward to learning and sharing together.

This first module was a good eyeopener for me.  As a young teacher who has grown up using a decent amount of technology I was suprised by the tools that I was not aware of.  My new understanding of the range of tools both socially and professionally has opened doors for me and my thinking about tasks.  I am suprised by the capacity of iGoogle and additionally how easy it is to setup various components. 

Professionally the many tools out there open doors for educational experiences and to create such experiences.  As a teacher I fear we often shy away from the social technology students use thinking it is a distraction and unhelpful.  I wonder if we simply need to rethink how we can use these various tools that our students are so familiar with and use daily.  We can use blogs for sharing student learning and assessment, along with create environments where students can provide feedback to each other.  I didn't realise the realm of internet capture and storing options and how this creates options for students to access work in various networks without need of a school drive.  The ability to capture tasks on screen as a teacher enables us to develop lessons with links for students and demonstration videos allowing students to work at their own speed.  This is great in that it means the teacher need not demonstrate something for the whole class once, and then continue to repeat themselves, but provide the video to allow students to work at their pace, catering for diverse learning needs.

Looking forward to learning lots more!
Amy