5-Web 2.0 and Concept Mapping

Web 2.0 includes social networking tools, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, and wikis (according to the podcast on Web 2.0). Many of these elements are essential in the classroom and even for teacher development.

YouTube videos are extremely helpful in the classroom, based on my experience as a student. In lectures, when a teacher shows a video it gets me back into the topic and usually helps me understand the topic more clearly. To effectively use these tools, a classroom must have connection to the Internet. As the chapter discusses, there are many different ways for schools to connect to the Internet. Some are wired together from the ceiling and others are using wireless technology, WiFi network.

Blogs are also an important element that should be used in the classroom. This course is the first to use blogs that I have taken. I really think that blogs are useful because it gives students a way to reflect on textbook chapters, lectures, and podcasts. It is also useful when reading other students blogs to see their perspective of the material. Blogs can be helpful when studying for tests or quizzes because it gives multiple viewpoints on a specific topic. To access blogs, an Internet connection is also necessary. 21classes.com gives teacher access to all of their students’ blogs so they can ensure they are being safe and appropriate. They can also control the publicity of their blogs to ensure student safety.

Twitter is also an important tool to use in the classroom. For example, students can reach out to scientists, astronauts, or doctors to ask them questions about certain topics. This gets students excited about learning because they are communicating with a main source. An Internet connection is also imperative for using Twitter.

As a teacher, it is important to not only use Web 2.0 tools in your classroom but to also allow students to engage in the use of these elements. For example, rather than showing YouTube videos in the classroom, a teacher could also teach their students how to create videos and share them through YouTube. This is probably one of the biggest lessons I have learned about educational technology so far in this course.

            Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/about “Read like you own every book in the world.” This web 2.0 tool is a membership book service. Scribd has a virtual library of approximately one million books, including audio books, music sheets, and comics. Not only does Scribd house tons of books, it also allows people to share various documents. As of now, Scribd has shared over 60 million documents from their users.

This tool can be extremely helpful in a classroom. Elementary students can use this to read books without having to go to a library. If a students’ parents cannot take them to the library, Scribd can somewhat take its place. Within the classroom, students can read while having computer time. This tool can also be accessed through the Internet on iPads or tablets which can be useful if students have access to these devices. Because this web 2.0 tool also allows academic articles to be shared, older students can use it to do research on certain topics being discussed in the classroom. Students can also share their documents and Scribd will give them the feeling of sharing with a virtual audience. This can get students excited about research which is important for teaching.

Using Webspiration turned out to be quite fun. At first, it was kind of difficult to get the program working the way we needed it to. Once my partner and I got into the program and successfully shared it with one another, it was much easier than we expected. I really liked this assignment because it is something I have never used before. The only complaint I have about this assignment is the difficulty logging in at first. Next time, I think I would meet up with my partner to complete the assignment or use some sort of video chat to connect with her while collaborating and completing the assignment. In my current “career” as a college student, I think I can use concept mapping as a tool for studying. Creating the concept, alone, was helpful in remembering facts and making connections that will stick in my long-term memory. In my future career as a school speech therapist, concept mapping can also be used. Because I am not in the program for speech therapy yet, I do not have a real specific idea of how I can utilize concept maps in my career. However, I think I could use them to communicate with parents of my students/patients. In the field of communication disorders, a lot of people do not fully understand the diagnoses or the tools needed to improve certain speech impediments. A concept map related to the specific diagnosis and all of the factors associated with it can be extremely helpful in teaching not only my students/patients, but also giving their relatives or caregivers a better understanding of what is going on.