Web+2.0

2 Web 2.0  The average person looks at an electronic device for at least five hours a day. When that person goes to class, it is very difficult to just sit there and listen to the teacher’s lecture. In today’s world, students need extra devices to hold their interest. The variety in Web 2.0 creates no excuse for your student to ever become bored with your lecture in class unless you are failing your job as an educator. That is why Web 2.0 is a great way for the students to interact and to hold their attention in the everyday lesson.  For the first week or so of class, most students are still on the summer break mode or on the winter break mode. This is why, for the first week or so, I like using slide shows in my lesson plans. It is a great way to get the lesson across to the kids because technology is something they are used to dealing with and interacting with. The Web 2.0 tool called 280 Slides is a great way to animate, add photos, and music. The 280 Slides is located right on the web, like You Tube and Flickr. You can access it anywhere as long as there is an internet connection. This way you do not have to deal with a thumb drive. I also believe that slideshows are a good way of “breaking the ice” with the students. If you just get up in the beginning of class and just give a boring lecture, than your students will believe that you are a very boring teacher. If you use cool animations, photos, etc. like in 280 Slides, they will at least enjoy your class a little bit better.  Also, music is a great way for memorization to take hold. The Web 2.0 tool Lyricsfly would be useful or Jam Studio. I am going to be a German teacher and an ESL teacher. If I want the students to listen to something in German, than Lyricsfly would defiantly be helpful. By using Lyricsfly, you can look up any song by using the title, artist, or lyric. This way if I can only remember the lyrics from the song, I can still locate the music I would like to display. For using Jam Studio, you essentially create your own music. In this scenario, I could create something that gives a beat or a melody that fits a certain grouping of pronouns or prepositions to help ensure memorization capabilities. I am also a percussionist, so I am sure that using Jam Studios would also be fun for me too.  To better myself for my students, the Web 2.0 tool Woopid is defiantly going to help me. It is a tutorial with pictures and step by step instructions on how to do more activities with technology. This site can answer any of my computer questions. I am also a girl, so pictures and step by step directions are always a good plan for me. In a way, I would not be afraid to try new things like I usually am. So if I wanted to do more effects on a project I would be presenting, I just go and type in more animation or something. This way, I better myself as an educator, and the students benefit from a better lesson.  Finally, I am going to have to allow the students to practice the materials form the lessons, and then, unfortunately, I am going to have to test them. Kubbu is a perfect way to do that. The students can access Kubbu  any time and play games or puzzles with each other or by themselves. When I was young, I remember learning that practice makes perfect. Now that I am older, I have proven and experienced that practice indeed  makes perfection. For teaching German, I can use games where the students can match up the English word with the German word like in the game Concentration. Also, to make this learning process more enjoyable, the students can play the German games with each other. I can also use puzzles to test their wits and skills. Then, on Kubbu, I can post quizzes for the students to take to see where we need to focus more on in the future. Quizzes are looked at so negatively any more. They are looked at like a stress figure for hopefully passing a class. Quizzes should be looked at like they are a check point; to check to see where you need to focus your studies more on. By using Kubbu, I will make more of an understanding why we will be taking quizzes.  I am certain that my students will benefit from me using 280 Slides, Lyricfly, Jam Studios, Woopid, and Kubbu. By using the Web 2.0 tools, I will be a much better educator for my future students, and I believe that it will make my future students better learners.