Thoughts on Web 2.0

Just so everyone knows, this is my very first blog ever. And I feel like this may not end well for me, since this is going to mean endless entertainment.

Of course, I knew what Web 2.0 was before today, I just didn't know that it actually had a name. The work that we did this morning in class on go2web20.net was really interesting because there are so many search engines and sites out there. Already, I am starting to think about the website unit we have to create at the end of this term, so while I was searching the website, I was thinking about how I could use some of these sites as activities for my students.

I am an elementary/middle school authorization, but at the moment, I am focusing more on the middle school end of that spectrum. If i do end up teaching middle school, I will be teaching Language Arts. The initial thought that I had for a unit would be taking a novel, and creating a website for that novel with activities that the students have to do and just different learning tools as they read the novel. I would use applications like Wordle, and have the students work in groups and come up with the most important themes and ideas of the novel. Another idea would be to have them write a short essay on the novel and then put that essay into Wordle and see what comes up. By sharing these, students would be able to see the important words and themes that other students have come up with as well.

Another application that I found that could be helpful in language arts would be to find an application that had a flow chart so that students could find all the main themes of the book, or even a character chart so they could identify main characters and then the traits and even look in the book for textual evidence to that affect.

Also, I really like the idea of the kids making a cartoon or a short movie having to do with the book they are reading as well. This could be a commercial or just informative. For instance, if the class is reading "Holes," the students could make a commercial using either video or a cartoon about how everyone should come to Camp Green Lake, or how to best dig a hole. This would give students the opportunity to think outside the story and get creative. I feel like this is the most important part of literature. Of course, being able to understand the text is important, but the critical thinking beyond the text is just as important.

Although, I don't know much about it, I think that using a wiki could be really helpful in a classroom setting because students could share their ideas about a novel, or even just share their own writing and put it up to share and even edit. In fact, I found some applications online where collaborative editing can occur between students. For instance, in the application, Etherpad, students would be able to look at each others work, make changes, and be able to high light and share the changes that they made.

I think that the most important part of Web 2.0 is the interaction that my students can have with each other, me, and the outside world (to a certain extent depending on the age). In other words, it is Web 2.0 that is opening up our world and making it possible to communicate and learn from each other as well as others from around the world, and it is a teacher's responsibility to bring this knowledge and communication into the classroom.