Web 2.0 Tools

 

The purpose for this blog is to describe ten Web 2.0 tools. Each one has to have a description and I have to tell how it will apply in my own classroom one day.  This is an assignment for my Education Technology class in college.

 

 

Target Map







 

The tool Target Map is one that is used for mapping. This can be used to create your own map of a country and add different points of interest. You can share the map with everyone and it can tell anything about the country. This would be great to use in my class for a geography assignment of different countries. I could make the kids learn some geography around the world, as well as embedding history into the maps.

 

 



Teachers TV

 





This tool is a site for teachers to have access to different videos.  Teachers can use all of the videos and different video sites because they are all educational.  This site has tons of videos to choose from to show kids. In my classroom I would use this to show videos about different events in history.  This will be great and easy to find good educational videos for any of my classes.

 

 

Stupefix













 

This tool allows you to make your own videos.  You put pictures, audio, and video in and it will make a professional video. It is free and easy to make. I could use this in my classroom as a video prioject assignment.  I could have the students get into groups and make a reenactment of some event in history and present it to the class by making one of these videos.

 

Create a Graph

 

This tool allows you to create a graph or chart of information. This is good because it gives a visual representation of anything you need.  There are different graphs and charts for any situation to use. I would use this in my class in a project to tell how different groups of people in our country view politics.  It would be a good way to show them how different candidates are represented.

 

Photoshow

 

The tool Photoshow will let you import pictures and make a musical slideshow.  You can even add videos where you want them.  This allows for some really cool presentations.  I would use this in my class for a tourism project.  The students could take pictures for different places and organize them into one of these presentations and tell about it in front of the class.





 

Addict-O-Matic

 

 

This tool will let you search the web to get information.  There is anything from food to politics on here to search from.  This has tons of information for research projects.  I would use this in my class for a research project.  The students can get into groups and research what is currently going on in politcs or history and due a report on it.  

 





 



 Zunal

 

With this tool, you can create your own webquest.  You can work alone or as a team with this site.  This even allows you to work on it on a mobile device, which gives you more freedom. I would use this in my class to have students create a webquest over their chosen topic in history.  Students would work in groups to complete the webquest and then swap with another group and actually do their webquest.

 





Collaborize Classroom

 

This tool allows to have an online classroom to post assignments or be able to share things with students.  This is create to communicate with students outside of the classroom about projects.  This will give them a direct way to get assignments or make up work.  I would use this for my class to post the days work on it. Also I would post important dates and projects so the students will always have a way to see when it will be due.

 



 



Chirbit

With this tool,  you can create your own audio files and share them with others. You can record and play them back.  This tool is a great thing to use to record conversations.  I would use this in my classroom for students to conduct interviews with each other.  Students would pair up and each research some person in history and be that person in the interview.

 



Preezo

 

This tool will allow you to make a professional presentation for class.  You can use pictures and edit them and make your own multimedia presentations.  You can also share the presentation with others. I would use this in my class for students to make their own presentations to show the class.  They would do the presentation over a major event in U.S. History.

 

 



 



 





Social Networking

Social networking has a huge impact on our lives today and there are all kinds of benefits to it as well as a lot of downfalls. In the first article that I read, it was about the negative effects of social networking.  When people form relationships on these different places, it's hard to tell what relationships are real apart from these internet relationships where you don't actually talk to people. There is also the problem with cyber bullying now where people get bullied through these social networking sites.  This has become a huge problem recently with such a huge push of technology. People also spend too much time doing the social media instead of what they should be doing, causing more lazy people. It also encourages people to put way too much personal information out there for anyone to see.

The next article on the social networking is all about how people portray themselves online. Are you really who you say you are? It is too easy just to make a whole bunch of things up about yourself to make you feel good when it's actually just a big lie. The problem with this is that too many people try to compare themselves to someone else instead of just being who they are and focusing on what makes them special. If people would stay true to their real selves, there would be less fake people out there in the world. This causes other people to get the wrong ideas about you and maybe even you believing that you are something that you are not. We just have to ask ourselves if this is really us when we get on the social media and post or describe ourselves.

In my opinion, social networking is a great thing because it allows you to connect with so many people so easily.  You can keep in touch with long distance friends and family and see what is going on in each others lives.  This is exactly what social media is for.  I also believe that social media is a bad thing because it is so easy for people to lie about who they really are.  I think that it has caused people to be even more scared to actually talk to people in public.  Guys are too scared to talk to girls and actually ask them out on a date in person to their face without a phone to text and hide behind or a computer. I think that this is one huge problem with the social networking along with the other huge problem of cyber bullying, but again it is just people hiding behind a computer or phone instead of growing up and actually talking to someone or holding an actually conversation. I think that it is sad that it has come to this.

 

Links of the articles reviewed: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effect-social-media-society-individuals-27617.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/r-kay-green/the-social-media-effect-a_b_3721029.html

About me: Wade Garrett

Hey welcome to my blog! My name is Wade Garrett and I am a college student at Henderson State University. I am originally from Fountain Lake High school. I live in a very small town called Paron, Arkansas where there isn't a whole lot except woods and farms. I love to hunt, but bow hunting is my favorite thing to do.  I also like to fish any chance I get, because just being in the outdoors to think is probably the best thing that there is to do. Recently I have really gotten into running and biking along with lifting weights. I will be running my first 5K in November and I'm pretty pumped up about that. I also love to cook, which means I also love to eat. Cooking has always been something that I was good at and it just comes really easy to me.  I really like to just use what I have and see what I can make with it and hopefully come up with something new and good to eat. Originally at HSU I studied Athletic Training, but I found out that it wasn't for me. Now I am a Social Sciences Education major and a Coaching minor, but what I really want to do is go get my master's degree to be some sort of administration, such as a principal or athletic director.  That would be sort of my dream job I guess you could say. I picked this career path because as a teacher I will have a lot of off time so I can spend it with my family and as an administrator a little later I will make more money and I feel like I will be happy with what I'm doing. I think that being a teacher is in my blood since almost all of my mom's side of the family is in the education field. The reason I am starting this blog is for my Education Technology class at college and we have to make a blog and post different things in it to get to know how this whole blogging thing works. The theme of my blog is fitness, food, and the outdoors because these are all things that I love to be doing any chance I get. These are some of my favorite things to do and I'm just a pretty simple guy who loves to hang out and have some fun.