Web 2.0 is an exciting time and set of tools for all people. Determining how integrated this can be in the classroom can be difficult. Recently I had a workshop on the importance of technology in the classroom. Some of the tools presented were not particularly tech savvy but it did get me thinking.
Personally I feel excited and passionate about technology. There are so many potential ways to integrate and use the Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. The possibilities are endless! Being able to be on the edge of all of this is awesome but all goes back to meeting students needs and Web 2.0 can aid in meeting needs.
However, the decision to incorporate technology into the classroom can be the easiest part. We can clearly see that students react to and are excited about learning different technologies. After coming to the realization that this is definitely positive, determining the appropriate technology to learn and apply can be the most difficult part.
Some of my most familiar include (this is a variety of sites, open source, and tools) :
There is so much to say about any one of these but there is only so much to put here in the initial post. It seems that every time you learn about one of these sources, another open pops up. It is fascinating!
So even more influential (as you can basically find or create any technology to meet your needs) are determinates as to what technologies can be used in your classroom. Some questions/factors include:
o What technology best fits your needs in your classroom?
o What do students use outside of class?
o Accessibility
Just like other teacher methods in the ultimate, best case scenario we would use what is best for the students. But with this situation, with reality, we need to pick the best for the students taking into account the factor determinates. In my classroom I was unable to use these Web 2.0 tools for a variety of factors. One was the accessibility of the computer labs. I was unable to use the computer lab often because there weren’t a lot of times available. But it also was my first year teaching and I wanted to make sure the content was set up best rather than my use of technology. In subsequent years I would integrate more technology which would fit with my curriculum seamlessly. I believe technology should support, not overshadow, the content.
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