Web 2.0 Tools

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Web 2.0 tools are continuously developed and ever-evolving and can make a tremendous difference in student learning.  Technology, as we know, has the potential to enhance and enrich education.  Assignments incorporating technology should have strong ties to the curriculum, and more and more available Web 2.0 tools allow more authentic and appropriate integration.

Xtramath.Org

Math fact fluency is a major curriculum goal for my students.  I utilize xtramath.org to personalize student practice.  Parents, students, and teachers can view progress and tailor future instruction.  Students are engaged and strive to perform well using this web program.  The website also tracks performance and focuses practice on the facts that students haven’t mastered.  It advances students once they’ve mastered a math operation. While not as flashy as some other math games on the Internet, it is a free, quality site that competes with paid math sites, such as IXL. 

Socrative

Another web 2.0 tool that I use in my classroom is Socrative, a smart student response system that allows teachers to engage students with a series of educational exercises and games. It’s free, works on any device with Internet access, and can be completely tailored to teacher’s and student’s needs. Teachers can create quizzes or download and customize pre-written quizzes. Teachers can also spontaneously ask questions and get student responses or have students record exit tickets after a lesson. It is a very powerful formative assessment tool.

Wordle

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Wordle is a word cloud generator that can be used to highlight key words and phrases or summarize the main ideas of a topic or concept. We have used it for vocabulary lessons frequently in my classroom and are currently using it as a collaborative effort to focus on similarities and differences between our Spanish pen pals and us. There is a slideshow that lists 45 Interesting Ways to Use Wordle in the Classroom. Since Wordle was developed, there have been additional word cloud generators have been created to compete with this application. Tagxedo and ImageChef, for example, allow the user to customize the shape and orientation of the word clouds. Here are some more word cloud generator options for your classroom!

Animoto

Animoto is an easy to use, video-editing web tool. It provides many educational opportunities for students. Teachers can create short, free videos to introduce a new topic and hook students into it or students could produce video presentations to demonstrate learning towards the end of a unit. 

Here is a sample video I made with Animoto to introduce a unit on immigration:

There are lots of Web 2.0 tools out there with even more each day. The best way to stay on top of the current trends is to actively explore and develop a strong professional learning network, which I discussed in my previous post. Get out on the web and then bring it back to the classroom!

References:

Dunn, J. (2010). 45 Interesting Ways to Use Wordle in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/45-interesting-ways-to-use-wordle-in-the-classroom/

Education Corner. (2015). XtraMath.org Review. Retrieved from http://www.educationcorner.com/xtramath.html

Rudey, D. (2013). Socrative - A 21st Century Way to Assess. Retrieved from http://www.emergingedtech.com/2013/08/socrative-a-21st-century-way-to-assess-as-easy-as-raising-your-hand/

Smitty, K. (2013). 9 Word Cloud Generators that Aren't Wordle. Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/9-word-cloud-generators-that-arent-wordle/