Web 2.0

Wikis and blogs are great uses of technology that can bring students together in and out of the classroom. I plan to introduce my students to these types of technology as quickly as possible. This technology allows interaction that would otherwise not be possible. I believe that I can introduce the use of wikis and blogs inside the classroom for discussion such as this. I also will afford the opportunity, possibly for extra credit, to those students that continue their discussions on their own time. Unfortunately it will be difficult to mandate the use of wikis and blogs outside of the classroom because of the need of an Internet connection.

Social bookmarking is a great way for students to communicate their research findings amongst one another. This will allow them to compare their findings and it also allows the teacher to view the research that have led the students to their decisions or writing. I am definitely interested in introducing Voicethread into my classroom. I feel that Voicethread is another great way for students to communicate amongst one another to voice their opinions, discuss research or assignments, and to continue classroom work. I plan to teach at a high school level so it is my opinion that Voicethread is appropriate. My opinion would change if we were discussing elementary education because of the level of maturity.

Tapped in is an amazing concept. I have never heard of this until this week. As stated in the textbook, "Tapped In defines itself as the online workplace of an international community of education professionals. K-12 teachers and librarians, professional development staff, teacher education faculty and students, and researchers engage in professional development programs and informal collaborative activities with colleagues." This appears to be a great place for teachers to communicate with one another and find guidance from other teachers across the globe.

Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R., & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning With Technology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.